Bodies, incorporeals, and the birth of a mathematical diagram

Speaker: Ricardo Nemirovsky, Manchester Metropolitan University

Date: Wed 9 October, 2019| 2.00 – 3.30 PM followed by coffee/tea until 3.30 PM

Location: UCL Knowledge Lab, 23-29 Emerald St, London WC1N 3QS

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Recording Link

As part of the UCL Knowledge Lab seminar series, this talk is about the nature of mathematical diagrams and their use.

Professor Nemirovsky draws on the distinction between bodies and incorporeal entities, propagated by Stoic philosophers, with a focus on two kinds of incorporeals: sense and emptiness. He illustrates the pervasive presence of sense and emptiness in mathematical practices.

These ideas are woven into the analysis of episodes selected from his own teaching of projective geometry and the use of Alberti’s Window – a tool developed to trace projections of objects or shapes. In these episodes, university students find different projections of a parabolic curve outlined with a long rope on a football field. During the final discussion, Professor Nemirovsky will trace relationships with phenomenological and embodied theories of mathematics learning.

 

About the speaker: 

Prof. Ricardo Nemirovsky works on research and development aimed at changing images of mathematics that are prevalent in our culture. Prior to coming to Manchester Metropolitan University, he directed educational projects in Argentina, Mexico, and the USA. He conducts research and theory development on the interplay between embodied cognition, affects, and mathematics learning. He has been working with several science and art museums in mathematics-oriented projects that combine research, development, and museum staff professional development. In addition to research papers, he has co-authored curricular units and has designed multiple devices for students’ use.