The Little Star (with Zvezdelina Stankova) - Numberphile Podcast

Mathematician Zvezdelina Stankova was born in Bulgaria and is now a teaching professor at UC Berkeley.
Zvezda's webpage - math.berkeley.edu/~stankova/
Zvezda videos on Numberphile - • Zvezdelina Stankova on...
The Legend of Question Six - • The Legend of Question...
Berkeley Math Circle - mathcircle.berkeley.edu
This episode was supported by G-Research, a world-leading quantitative finance research firm, hiring the brightest minds to tackle the biggest questions in finance - learn more at gresearch.co.uk/numberphile/ - www.gresearch.co.uk/numberphile/
You can support Numberphile on Patreon - / numberphile
Like these people - www.numberphile.com/patrons
With thanks to MSRI - www.msri.org

Пікірлер: 60

  • @EXPLICITBG
    @EXPLICITBG2 жыл бұрын

    Zvezdelina is from my city and I was surprised to learn that she didn’t go to the maths high school where I studied. I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a big patriot and yet I can’t help but feel a sense of pride because of her achievements both in the academic sense and with regards to her multiple appearances on one of my all time favourite channels - Numberphile. Thank you for your contributions to the field of Mathematics and for representing Ruse and Bulgaria as a whole! Best wishes, Simeon Stefanov

  • @ivopavlov5434
    @ivopavlov54342 жыл бұрын

    56:10 - “No, I don’t think my students are as tough as I was” 😂 Zvezda is awesome, a true hero in the math community today!

  • @grantcivyt

    @grantcivyt

    Жыл бұрын

    It would be funnier if it wasn't so sad. On the bright side, it turns out you don't need a great education to succeed in life in America. But it sure would help kids if we did provide that. If you'd like to learn more about our depressing education system, read up on what happened to the real-life math program from Stand and Deliver.

  • @DitDede
    @DitDede2 жыл бұрын

    I always enjoy listening to Zvezda, be it about math or, apparently, her biography. She is so pleasant and authentic.

  • @Fallkhar
    @Fallkhar2 жыл бұрын

    When Zvezdalina said that her favorite sci-fi novel is The Day of the Triffids I almost spit my coffee out. Just last night I remembered the 2009 movie based on the novel and I was like: "This is pretty obscure nowadays, I wonder if anyone still likes this?". I don't know I just thought it was pretty cool that she likes the novel.

  • @mariusmomanu6772
    @mariusmomanu67722 жыл бұрын

    Math circles in Eastern European communist countries were basically after-school math clubs. We used the same name in Romania, a country with a significantly different language to Bulgaria - the name probably originated in the Soviet Union, then was internalized by its satellite communist countries. 'Circle' was probably used due to the highly symmetrical nature of round objects, obvious not just to mathematicians, thereby a perfect metaphor for equality (King Arthur and his knights were happy to share a round table, too!) Math was held in high regard back then in the Eastern Bloc and the math circles would attract real talent, students that would take part in math competitions, and then go on to study mathematics-related subjects at university level. The maths circles were, indeed, attracting young people who wanted to do more, not just something else, as Zvezda explained - they were math clubs with a twist.

  • @huskytail

    @huskytail

    Жыл бұрын

    Study circles exist thankfully way before the Soviet union. Some of the organizational stuff was definitely common throughout the Eastern block, definitely, but the study circles have been a very strong part of Bulgarian education since the start of Chitalishte (before the end of the Ottoman empire in Bulgaria)

  • @EmissaryOfSmeagol
    @EmissaryOfSmeagol2 жыл бұрын

    Doc. Stankova has such a lovely voice, it's good to hear from her again!

  • @febobartoli
    @febobartoli2 жыл бұрын

    Wow Brady, I loved the moving map of all the locations Zvezda was referring to, wonderfully coordinated!

  • @blue_tetris
    @blue_tetris2 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely wonderful interview. Thanks for this.

  • @prashantkumar2963
    @prashantkumar29632 жыл бұрын

    The interviewer is also equally excited that I liked

  • @thomasg6830
    @thomasg68302 жыл бұрын

    I like the podcast but would appreciate a less flashy video background too

  • @numberphile2

    @numberphile2

    2 жыл бұрын

    Just don't watch it!!!!! Open a new tab and look at absolutely anything you want. :)

  • @JDSileo

    @JDSileo

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@numberphile2 I must agree with the others. This animation is quite disturbing. It's giving me a headache and unless you have KZread Premium you can't go to another app on mobile.

  • @strongmanlin

    @strongmanlin

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@numberphile2 I think the background is mostly fine, but it would be better if the waveform only maxed out at maybe 1/4 of the height of the frame instead of the whole frame.

  • @scottmuck

    @scottmuck

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yep, turning phone over to avoid seizure lol 😂

  • @MacShapow

    @MacShapow

    2 жыл бұрын

    There is a podcast feed you can use instead of the YT feed.

  • @Terratops474
    @Terratops4742 жыл бұрын

    I didn't even realize there was a Numberphile podcast. Cool!

  • @numberphile2

    @numberphile2

    2 жыл бұрын

    Give us a sub on your podcast player! ;) All episodes here too: kzread.info/head/PLH2AOVeIaWFmnXrXQ_UhKVy9Zp0RtRMm5

  • @patrickfoley4924
    @patrickfoley49242 жыл бұрын

    I revisit her triangular highway and pebbling the chessboard videos all the time. love how she explains things

  • @allluckyseven
    @allluckyseven2 жыл бұрын

    Love Zvezda! She's amazing!

  • @lilianagabrielarusso9125
    @lilianagabrielarusso91252 жыл бұрын

    This story is so vivid for me.. Keeping the proportions, it is very symilar to mine, and probably with dozens of other unidenfied girls and boys of that age: also struggeling with equating linear problems, also having the first mathematical epiphania in the 5-th grade. Also having marvelous, inspiring (women) teachers at my elementary in Bucharest /Romania and attending mathematical circles (usually at 17h, on Saturdays; later, for grown-ups, at 8h on Sundays). I always felt deeply gratefull for this. As a consequence, I always carry with me the need to share the beauty of mathematics, in particular of geometry, which was for me the first meningful contact with mathematics: both axiomatic as well as experimental. Sadly, in order to be able to live from mathematics, I had no option other than living my country- nowadays I live in Brazil. Zvezdelina's work and achievements are remarcable and meaningfull!

  • @frankharr9466
    @frankharr94662 жыл бұрын

    That was quite a story. There's a lot wrong with math education in the U.S. I wish her well, we should teach it better. And I did like the map thing. It took me a little bit to get, but when I did, it was fun.

  • @Fallkhar
    @Fallkhar2 жыл бұрын

    This lady is such a hero!

  • @robespierre2575
    @robespierre25752 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the podcasts these are amazing Brady!

  • @dypteseu
    @dypteseu2 жыл бұрын

    6:27 this was a bit concerning, then I realized the auto generated subtitles were a tad off. "My father came from a small town where there were no conditions for him to study anything but violence"

  • @gidikalchhauser

    @gidikalchhauser

    Жыл бұрын

    I can hear the sound of violence

  • @arranmcgown2386
    @arranmcgown23862 жыл бұрын

    Loved the podcast, thanks Brady and Zvezda! Edit: quite a few people are complaining about the background, but personally, I was quite transfixed by it, I liked it

  • @codewizard58
    @codewizard58 Жыл бұрын

    These biographies are great. I have so many points where even my life criss-crosses them. In this video I can check off Bulgaria, Australia and the USA.

  • @Veptis
    @Veptis2 жыл бұрын

    I participated at some maths competition during my school time. Mathe Känguru and over the years I won a "first place" twice which granted me some fancy stuff. Like I won a t shirt for getting a long streak of correct answers and also like a chemistry set which was fun to mix all together. And this summer semester I begun to take my first actual maths class at university which is required for the masters programme I want to do. I would describe myself to be very interested and adapt in the topic, for example i am consuming maths content on KZread like these podcasts, main videos and many other channels. However this class in particular isn't even meant for maths students, it's for computer science students - so it's less extreme in some way. But it's still a lot of work and difficult to get started in so I am happy to not study maths academically. I enjoy the results and some of the beauty but I dislike some of the redundant proofs and syntax at time.

  • @gabrielfonseca4014
    @gabrielfonseca4014 Жыл бұрын

    heyy thats my proffessor!

  • @JacobPlat
    @JacobPlat2 жыл бұрын

    Mooie Zvezdelina!

  • @koneahonen5746
    @koneahonen57462 жыл бұрын

    why no video?

  • @yashasanil9017
    @yashasanil90177 ай бұрын

    Zvezda is absolutely correct; the largest problem in US schools is a lack of uniformity. Curriculums are totally inconsistent, from grade to grade, teacher to teacher, meaning that the education doesn't build upon itself. Some topics will be completely skipped over while others are needlessly repeated. A common curriculum is absolutely needed, but Americans have low trust in public schools - not without reason. It would be hard to convince enough people to approve a more unified approach.

  • @MatejCrhak
    @MatejCrhak2 жыл бұрын

    (e^iπ + 2)st comment!

  • @romanski5811

    @romanski5811

    2 жыл бұрын

    e^(💧log(😄))

  • @iva20osu
    @iva20osu Жыл бұрын

    I have never heard my home country being pronounced as "burgaly" before...

  • @ivanlusenko4674
    @ivanlusenko46742 жыл бұрын

    салют почти землякам :))))

  • @timzterific
    @timzterific2 жыл бұрын

    The waveform thing is VERY annoying!!!! Ugh!!

  • @jpopelish
    @jpopelish2 жыл бұрын

    Horrible graphic for a podcast.

  • @numberphile2

    @numberphile2

    2 жыл бұрын

    I never imagine people actually watch it, just leave a tab open.... But I like to have some easter eggs in there just in case! Sorry you don't like it.

  • @jpopelish

    @jpopelish

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@numberphile2 I guess I have to fight off the seizures and watch for the easter eggs, now. Whoever came up with the audio amplitude bars, as a graphic addition to podcast words, had to be an audio engineer worrying about levels, not someone thinking about the audience. Wondering around in 2D slices of a 4D cube would be much better.

  • @morkmon

    @morkmon

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jpopelish just use a podcast app

  • @culwin

    @culwin

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@numberphile2 Well you clearly made the effort to do the world map thing throughout... so it sure seems like we are meant to look at it... but then strangely messed it all up with the sound bars.

  • @theheadshot45
    @theheadshot452 жыл бұрын

    "Even during the communist era..." That was the best era in Bulgarian, and world, history.

  • @huskytail

    @huskytail

    Жыл бұрын

    Pff haha, right. So great nobody goes back to it

  • @theheadshot45

    @theheadshot45

    Жыл бұрын

    @@huskytail Except there are a number of communist countries, including China which is now the world's most powerful country. Cry about it.

  • @huskytail

    @huskytail

    Жыл бұрын

    @@theheadshot45 including China? Please indulge me and tell me which are those other GREAT communist countries 😂. And also, China's system is communist only by name, especially compared to what we had in Bulgaria.

  • @theheadshot45

    @theheadshot45

    Жыл бұрын

    @@huskytail Read 'Socialism with Chinese Characteristics' by Roland Boer. The only reason you don't see China as socialist is because you're not educated. You don't live there, and have never even visited. China has the world's biggest economy, one of the highest populations, and is improving every day. Meanwhile, the West is collapsing daily. The US and UK in particular are decaying, struggling to make ends meet for families and are running out of energy. Europe is now telling its people not to use AC or heating, even in extreme weather. Pathetic. China's life expectancy overtook the US in 2021.