whats your favourite maths topic,favourite mathematician and your mathematical dream?

Apologies if this thread exists elsewhere, just thought I'd start a new interesting topic to distract us all a little from the heat of UCAS applications and interviews etc.

Feel free to post your answers and please tell us why also.

As for me,

Favourite maths Topic-Algebra (i just enjoy pure maths and next to that will be mechanics)

Favourite mathematician-Isaac Newton (For inventing calculus)

mathematical dream (to unravel something that has never been discovered before in mathematics)

Ok guys,

lets get this thread growing.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

anshul95

Original post by pappymajek

Well before I start Isaac Newton WAS NOT THE SOLE INVENTOR of calculus. Leibniz came up with his ideas independently and in fact it his notation dy/dx that we use today instead of Newton's more clumsy and less suggestive dot notation.

Favourite maths topic- population dynamics and epidemiology

Favourite mathematician - Riemann or Wiles

mathematical dream - to make a significant contribution to mathematics

Reply 2

Casshern1456

My fav topic Not to bore you is Differentiation and Integration I love all the methods and formulae's

My fav mathematician is Paul Dirac for his Dirac equation for the electron.

My mathematical dream is for someone else to discover the density of a black hole and tell me.

You can tell I'm not studying maths at uni, but non the less still very intrigued by it.

Reply 3

lukas1051

I'm only really doing it to get into a science course... my passion for mathematics is near zero.

Reply 4

x_muneeb_x

My favorite was Adding since it was easy...other than that Math is boring and requires me to sit down and solve and solve while i could be using my time more productively like for example having fun...I really wish i could be done with Math A-Level sigh.

mos def-mathematics

Original post by x_muneeb_x

A-level may not be fun but what about other areas - looks like you are doing economics - what about statistics and things like stochastic modelling?

Reply 7

x_muneeb_x

Original post by anshul95

A-level may not be fun but what about other areas - looks like you are doing economics - what about statistics and things like stochastic modelling?

Well Statistics even more boring...All you do is sit down and calculate stuff on the calculator.

Reply 8

Reminisce

- Topology

- Carl Gauss

- Devise a GUT (Grand Unified Theory)

Reply 9

pappymajek

Original post by anshul95

Thanks for the correction anshul95! Indeed leibniz fine tuned the concepts proposed originally by Newton but I thought the whole calculus was actually Newton's original idea( apart from the notation). Correct me if i'm wrong.

It's a shame that some people dont find maths fun, advanced maths is hard work but its easier if you enjoy it rather than doing it for the sake of getting a degree.

Its interesting to see all your dreams and aspirations, I hope you chieve them all, keep dreaming, keep thinking and keep up the hard work.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 10

anshul95

Original post by x_muneeb_x

Well Statistics even more boring...All you do is sit down and calculate stuff on the calculator.

Thats because you are looking at your A-level and thinking thats what maths is. No it isn't - go research stochastic modelling, without which much economic decisions governments etc make would be made MUCH MUCH harder

Reply 11

anshul95

Original post by pappymajek

Thanks for the correction anshul95! Indeed leibniz fine tuned the concepts proposed originally by Newton but I thought the whole calculus what actually Newton;s original idea( apart from the notation). Correct me if i'm wrong.

It's a shame that some people dont find maths fun, advanced maths is hard work but its easier if you enjoy it rather than doing it for the sake of getting a degree.

Its interesting to see all your dreams and aspirations, I hope you chieve them all, keep dreaming, keep thinking and keep up the hard work.

It also depends on what we mean by invent - because if you mean discovered the Fundamental Theorems of Calculus then fine Newton and Leibniz. But if we mean invent in more general sense of the word then people like the Egyptians and Greeks had some idea about integral calculus (they used to calculate volumes and areas of shapes). You could also say invent means how long it took to make the foundations of calculus stronger - which didn't really start hapenning till Cauchy explored things like continuity in 1800s.

Reply 12

pappymajek

Original post by anshul95

You're definitely well versed with your history of mathematics anshul95. Im impressed!

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 13

anshul95

Original post by pappymajek

You're definitely well versed with your history of medicine anshul95. Im impressed!

Thats because I did an extended project on The History and Applications of Calculus and because I love everything even remotely mathematical in nature :smile:

PS: I assume you maths and not medicine

Reply 14

XShmalX

Primes, Riemann, Riemann Hypothesis
lol original or what?! :rolleyes:

Reply 15

pappymajek

Original post by anshul95

Thats because I did an extended project on The History and Applications of Calculus and because I love everything even remotely mathematical in nature :smile:

PS: I assume you maths and not medicine

I meant history of mathematics :smile:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 16

Yosaron

Favourite maths topic: Number theory

Favourite mathematician: Paul Erd?s (for pure dedication)

Mathematical dream: Discover an obscure kind of number and get it named after me

Reply 17

Tom722

Favourite Maths Topic: Probably Calculus

Favourite Mathematician: Newton/Leibniz

Mathematical Dream: TO BE THE FIRST PERSON TO DIVIDE BY ZERO! (Successfully)

Reply 18

W.H.T

Mechanics. I just love it when I understand how everything works :sogood:

Reply 19

pappymajek

Original post by W.H.T

Mechanics. I just love it when I understand how everything works :sogood:

Any particular area of mechanics that fascinates you? I enjoy mechanics too but sometimes the questions are twisted and can be very mean. I love it for its mathematical content but it's not so easy to pass in exams. There are just too many ways they can trick you.

Have you done up to M3?