Undergraduate Colloquium – Joseph H. Silverman (Brown University)

When:
January 14, 2016 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
2016-01-14T15:00:00-10:00
2016-01-14T16:00:00-10:00
Where:
Bilger 335

Title: Taxicabs and Sums of Two Cubes: An Excursion in Mathematics
Speaker: Joseph H. Silverman (Brown University)

Some numbers, such as

9 = 1^3 + 2^3 and 370 =3^3 + 7^3,

can be written as a sum of two cubes. Are there any numbers that can be written like this in two (or more) different ways? This elementary question will lead us into a beautiful area of mathematics where number theory, geometry, algebra, and calculus interact in surprising ways. The talk will be accessible to undergraduates at all levels.