What we’re about
Math Counts is a meetup to engage all things mathematical in a relaxed setting on the fourth Saturday of each month. We strive to make each event accessible to those with rudimentary math skills while also engaging those with more advanced knowledge, so join us no matter what your level of mathematical ability.
Math Counts brings together math aficionados, amateur and professional mathematicians and educators to engage all things mathematical. Our meeting topics range from the elementary to the profound, the practical to the philosophical, and the simple to the complex. Whether we are discussing books or on-line videos, hanging out to discuss recent mathematics news, enjoying mathematics activities, or otherwise imbibing the mathematical, we invite you to join us in a relaxing setting for stimulating polite conversations and activities to participate in the fabric of Philadelphia's vibrant Mathematics tapestry.
Mathematics is surprising, playful, stimulating and profoundly applicable to most aspects of life. Keith Devlin and others call it the science of patterns. Here are some quotes about the subject:
"If the modern world stands on a mathematical foundation, it behooves every thoughtful, educated person to attempt to gain some familiarity with the world of mathematics. Not only with some particular subject, but with the culture of mathematics, with the manner in which mathematicians think and the manner in which they see this world of their own creation."
--- William Byers
"A mathematical theory is not to be considered complete until you have made it so clear that you can explain it to the first man whom you meet on the street." --- An Old French Mathematician quoted by David Hilbert
"But it should always be insisted that a mathematical subject is not to be considered exhausted until it has become intuitively evident."
--- Felix Klein
"I assert only that in every particular Nature-study, only so much real science can be encountered as there is mathematics to be found in it"
--- Immanuel Kant
"The greatest challenge today, not just in cell biology and ecology but in all of science, is the accurate and complete description of complex systems. Scientists have broken down many kinds of systems. They think they know most of the elements and forces. The next task is to reassemble them, at least in mathematical models that capture the key properties of the entire ensembles."
--- E. O. Wilson, Consilience, p.85.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- 1st Saturday In-person Math Counts August 2025 - Groups and their graphsFood Court @ The Shops at Liberty Place, Philadelphia, PA
Continuing our exploration of abstract Group Theory. I hope to finally explore the action of the symmetric group on 3 elements on an equilateral triangle, and its graphic representation as a Cayley Graph.
I will also do a quick recap of my "improv" or "desert island" approach to exploring mathematics. This is a work in progress, and an experiment. I am hinting at a thesis that mathematics is a self-correcting code, where partially remembered or even mis-remembered axioms, definitions and theorems will converge to something equivalent to the "standard" accepted axioms, definitions, and theorems.
Depending on Bob Miller's availability, this session, or the following one on Saturday, August 9th will include a hands-on origami workshop!
Bob Miller's presentation on group theory, crystallography, and origami to the Quantum Formalism group theory bootcamp. (Youtube video)
Location: The food court at Liberty Place, 16th and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.
The far side of the food court where there are windows overlooking 17th Street tends to be less crowded and noisy than the main central area.
- 2nd Saturday In-person Math Counts August 2025 - Groups and their graphsFood Court @ The Shops at Liberty Place, Philadelphia, PA
Continuing our exploration of abstract Group Theory. I hope to finally explore the action of the symmetric group on 3 elements on an equilateral triangle, and its graphic representation as a Cayley Graph.
I will also do a quick recap of my "improv" or "desert island" approach to exploring mathematics. This is a work in progress, and an experiment. I am hinting at a thesis that mathematics is a self-correcting code, where partially remembered or even mis-remembered axioms, definitions and theorems will converge to something equivalent to the "standard" accepted axioms, definitions, and theorems.
Depending on Bob Miller's availability, this session, or the previous one on Saturday, August 2nd will include a hands-on origami workshop!
Bob Miller's presentation on group theory, crystallography, and origami to the Quantum Formalism group theory bootcamp. (Youtube video)
Location: The food court at Liberty Place, 16th and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.
The far side of the food court where there are windows overlooking 17th Street tends to be less crowded and noisy than the main central area.
