Monday, October 29, 2012

Shortest Paths, Soap Films, and Minimal Surfaces.

You know you're in for a real treat when a lecture starts off with "I just happen to have with me today this bucket filled with soap solution, water, and some glycerin." That happens to be the opening line from a talk given by Professor Michael Dorff at the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). Dorff's talk was quite hands-on and it included a number of skeletal Zometool creations and deconstructed Slinkies, among other items. The title of the talk was "Shortest Paths, Soap Films, and Minimal Surfaces" and it is available here in its entirety. In the lecture, Dorff talks (and demonstrates) the shortest distance between four points, neighborhood accessibility, and a number of fascinating topics.
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. https://www.scout.wisc.edu

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