With Spring Break fa
st approaching, you might begin to wonder, where do math tutors go on vacation? Times Square of course! Personally, I always prefer the beach, somewhere I can relax, read a book, do some math in the sand. But what about those who are completely dedicated to knowledge? Those mathematicians that not only DO MaTh, but explore the proof and people behind it. Where do they go on vacation? Where do they spend their free time? Now you may be thinking, “Well it’s obvious! In a lab! In the library!”, but mathematicians are people too; they strive to travel, to explore, to discover.
Some may think that the only place a mathematician can discover new things is in the infinite limitlessness of space, but trust me, not everyone wants to (or can) be hurled into space by a rocket traveling 20 times the speed of sound. In the future perhaps, but today? Not so much. So where do they go? Well, why not back to the place where a principle of math was discovered? Why not go see where Pythagoras lived? Or Galileo? Visit Einstein’s or Fibonacci’s hometown? So many people from artists to physicists draw inspiration from the things around them. What inspired these great people might do the same for the mathematician.
Let’s focus on Pythagoras to begin, since I believe most people are familiar with his most famous Pythagorean Theorem. In history he is known as the first pure mathematician. Born in 570 BC, Pythagoras traveled through Egypt, Italy, Greece and some say even India. He studied under Anaximander, and he was known to be an influence on Plato and Euclid (among many others). Can you imagine taking a pilgrimage through these places? As we are all aware, we may not be able to see exactly where he was because he lived so long ago, but a trip to see the Pyramids and a walk through an ancient Greek town might be just enough to inspire greatness.
How about Fibonacci next? Have you heard of the his famous sequence? In the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, each number is the sum of the previous two numbers, and as most mathematicians know it is pretty phenomenal, particularly because it can be found all throughout nature. You can see more about that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahXIMUkSXX0. It’s extremely interesting, and not just to MaTh nerds. Fibonacci was born in 1170 in a town called Bugia on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He traveled extensively with his father (a wealthy merchant) around the Mediterranean Sea where he learned the Hindu-Arabic system and the arithmetic that accompanied it. He was a great influence on modern mathematics, introducing the Hindu-Arabic numerals (digits 0-9 and place values) in his book Liber Abaci, thus replacing Roman Numerals system throughout Europe. In the 19th century he was immortalized in stone with a statue now located in the Piazza dei Miracoli (where the Leaning Tower of Pisa is located). Now wouldn’t Italy make for an inspirational trip? You could even learn about a little bit of failed architecture.
Next, let’s find someone a little more modern: Einstein. And I know what you’re thinking, he’s a physicist, but math is a huge element of physics, so let’s just see what we can find. Born in Germany in 1879, he lived most of his early life in Munich, but he also traveled a lot (which is becoming synonymous with many famous mathematicians). He worked and researched in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States. Quite a road trip, right? It would be almost impossible for me to summarize Einstein’s papers here, especially since a lot of his theories are still in the works of being proven today, but I will leave you with this, Einstein was an incredible person, intellectually and personally. He felt a great deal of responsibility for Germany’s actions in WWII, and without him the Manhattan Project may have never come to be. I believe a pilgrimage to his hometown, the universities where he taught and researched, and his home in Princeton, NJ would be an amazing experience and inspiration.
All of these intellectuals lived (somewhat) just like us. They grew up with hardships and challenges and out of that came something beautiful. They answered (and created) some of this world’s greatest questions. So on your next vacation (mathematical or not), look around and wonder, “What can I learn here?”. Who lives there? Works there? Could the place inspire greatness? There is always something to discover. And who knows, you might just discover something great.