SIGMAA IBL August Watch Party: Knots & Tactile Intuition

Where does mathematical intuition come from? We hone our ability to understand mathematical objects through taking classes, studying, and researching, but we can also learn mathematics on an intuitive level using our five senses. A more sensory, embodied approach helps the process of mathematical discovery flow more easily and gives us a more nuanced understanding of deep truths. We will see several examples of how tactile intuition can connect with mathematical ideas in the case of knot theory. Hopefully, you will take inspiration from these activities to develop sensory, intuition-building activities for your own fields of study. Request for Participants: Please come to this workshop with props to build your own knots (rope, shoelaces, pipe cleaners, bendy straws, a clasped necklace chain, a tangle fidget toy, or other knot-like objects you might have on hand). We’ll work through some activities where rigid materials, like pipe cleaners, will be helpful and some for which more flexible material, like rope, will be easier to work with. Speaker Bio: Allison Henrich is a professor of mathematics at Seattle University and editor of MAA FOCUS. She is coauthor or co-editor of several books, including An Interactive Introduction to Knot Theory, Living Proof: Stories of Resilience Along the Mathematical Journey, and Navigating the Math Major: Charting Your Course. She is excitedly anticipating the release this November of her forthcoming book with artist Esther Loopstra, Think Like an Artist, Create Like a Mathematician.