32nd Annual Student Research Conference
Defenders of Mathematics: Henri Poincaré and Cédric Villani
Michael T. Wohldmann
Dr. Audrey Viguier, Faculty Mentor
Over a century later, one of the most famous contemporary mathematicians in France, Cédric Villani, conducts himself much the same way as perhaps the most highly esteemed French mathematician of the nineteenth century, Jules Henri Poincaré, in their respective work in defending the sciences and mathematics, from Poincaré’s treatises on the sciences to Villani’s TED Talk. But to what extent do these two mathematicians promote mathematics as a field of study in the same way, and where exactly do they differ in their methods? To answer these questions, we must explore how each one frames the study of mathematics in their respective works, meaning we must explore how they present the nature of mathematical reasoning, whether it is truly deductive or inductive in some sense, and the implications of recent mathematical discoveries and novelties.
Keywords: Poincaré, Villani, science, mathematics, French, Capstone
Topic(s):French
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 204-4
Location: BH 219
Time: 11:00