It's A Math Math Math World with Divakaran and Shraddha | Radio Azim Premji University Podcast By Radio Azim Premji University cover art

It's A Math Math Math World with Divakaran and Shraddha | Radio Azim Premji University

It's A Math Math Math World with Divakaran and Shraddha | Radio Azim Premji University

By: Radio Azim Premji University
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Spooked by Mathematics? Well, so was our ‘average student’ Shraddha. Until she met Prof. Divakaran at Azim Premji University, who became her tour guide on a journey into its fascinating history. Voyage with them to Babylon, Greece, Egypt, Japan and, of course, India, to discover the origin stories of numbers.

This is a public podcast from Radio Azim Premji University.

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Radio Azim Premji University 2023 Mathematics Science
Episodes
  • Ep 1 - Babylon

    Ep 1 - Babylon
    Nov 8 2023

    Babylon, as the story goes, is where applied mathematics took baby steps. “What, really?!” asks Shraddha. Remember the place value system that makes it easy to represent small and large numbers? That originated in Babylon, according to historical records that show that Babylonians had independently discovered the place value system as early as 2000 BCE to 1900 BCE. That’s more than a millennium before other civilisations. Another fun fact: The number 60 played a significant role in Babylonian mathematics, says Prof. Divakaran. To find out why (and more), listen to this episode.

    Further Reading:

    Ifrah, Georges: The Universal History of Numbers - from prehistory to the invention of the computer, published by John Wiley & Sons. PDF available at Internet Archive: ⁠ia600308.us.archive.org/5/items/TheUn…bers_text.pdf⁠

    Where on earth is Babylon? Read this National Geographic Education article to know more: ⁠education.nationalgeographic.org/resource…w%20Iraq⁠

    Credits: Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar
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    28 mins
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