Interview with Kevin Buzzard

Math-Life Balance

Kevin Buzzard is a professor in Imperial College London working in number theory and formal proof verification. In this interview, Kevin shares his views on the role of computers in doing math, tells about his experience of upbringing 3 kids as a researcher and raises questions about the way we approach math education. Lots of glorious laughter and unforgettable facial expressions are included!

Kevin's homepage: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/k.buzzard

Channel podcast: https://anchor.fm/math-life-balance​​​​

Chapters:

0:00 teaser

0:48 Kevin’s t-shirt

3:06 imagination in math

5:36 computers vs humans

10:43 computers and infinity

12:35 math as a zen puzzle

15:19 role of fashion in math

20:06 mathematicians detecting mistakes

24:41 imperfections in our math

29:14 when the dust settles

31:56 not caring what people think

36:01 how to entertain kids in the subway

40:26 babies as the way to understand humanity

42:52 doing math when you have 3 kids

46:09 writing papers with non-mathematicians

48:54 why kids are forced to memorize math?

53:29 doing exams vs learning math

57:16 unusual advice for students

59:15 the answer to the ultimate question