Distinguished Lecture Series

Carriage House Conference Center, Washington DC

Funded by the National Security Agency

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The MAA, with the generous support of the NSA, is proud to present a series of public lectures. The series features some of the foremost experts within the field of mathematics, known for their ability to make current mathematical ideas accessible to non-specialists, and provides a fabulous and fun learning opportunity for both professionals and students, as well as anyone interested in learning more about current trends in mathematics and the relationship between mathematics and broader scientific, engineering and technological endeavors.

The series will take in the Carriage House, the MAA’s newly-renovated, high tech conference center.

2008 Lectures

Past lectures

When Mathematics Changed the World

Dr. Keith Devlin
Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University
July 2, 2008, 6:30 p.m.
Mathematical Association of America Carriage House
1781 Church Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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At four distinct stages in the development of modern society, mathematics (in particular, acquisition of the ability to carry out new kinds of computation) changed in a fundamental, dramatic, and revolutionary way how we humans understand the world and live our lives.

The fourth such change is taking place during our lifetime, brought about by the invention of machines that can be instructed to compute for us. The others occurred in 8,000 B.C., the 13th century, and the 17th century. I'll look at how human life and cognition changed at each of those three stages.