De-Stressing Math Collective (DMC): An evening with Newton

Join the De-Stressing Math Collective (DMC) for "An Evening with Newton," a presentation by William Dunham, Research Associate in Mathematics at Bryn Mawr College. Snacks will be served in the Math Lounge (Park 360) at 6:30 PM.

Abstract:
As a young scholar at Cambridge University, Isaac Newton changed the course of mathematics and physics. In particular, the span 1665 – 1667 is called his anni mirabiles (“miraculous years”) in celebration of his ground-breaking achievements.
The first of Newton’s mathematical discoveries – his generalized binomial series – is the focus of this talk. Young Isaac started with a commonplace idea and, through a bold act of imagination, turned it into something powerful. I’ll show how he used this discovery in the numerical evaluation of roots and in the creation of what we now call “Taylor series” for some famous functions.
As a brief epilogue, I’ll address Newton’s most famous statement: "If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." He wrote these words in 1675. The letter from which they came, and my personal contact with it, might provide a surprising end to an evening with one of history’s most remarkable thinkers.