The public lecture “IMAGINARY – Through the Eyes of Mathematics: Between Research, Application and Communication” has been given by Prof. Gert-Martin Greuel (University of Kaiserslautern, Germany) on Tuesday afternoon, 17 December 2013 at VIASM.

The lecture attracted more than 80 participants, among them there are nearly 60 students from Hanoi University of Sciences – VNU Hanoi, Hanoi National University of Education and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

According to Prof. Greuel, possibly more than any other science mathematics of today finds itself between the conflicting demands of research, application and communication.

Prof. Greuel giving the public lecture.

A great part of modern mathematics regards itself as searching for inner mathematical structures just for their own sake, only committed to its own axioms and logical conclusions. To do so, neither assumptions nor experience nor applications are needed or desired.

On the other hand, mathematics has become one of the driving forces in scientific progress and moreover, has even become a cornerstone for industrial and economic innovation. However, public opinion stands in strange contrast to this, often displaying a large amount of mathematical ignorance.

The lecture addresses to an audience without any special mathematical education. Prof. Greuel looks at these tensions and try to reveal some of the causes that lie underneath. He focuses on the question whether it is possible or necessary to transmit an understanding of mathematics to the general public.

Participants of the public lecture.

After the lecture, participants have time enjoying the exhibition “IMAGINARY – Through the Eyes of Mathematics” at VIASM.

The exhibition is an attempt to interpret and communicate mathematics to a broad audience. It is about mathematics as an art, geometry is presented as attractive visual creations. Its aim is to interest people in mathematics by showing them the beauty of mathematical objects and fill them with inspiration and imagination.

Exhibition “IMAGINARY– Through the Eyes of Mathematics” lasts until 27 December 2013.

IMAGINARY is created and maintained by the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach. It started as a travelling exhibition in the German Year of Mathematics 2008 and developed into an international, open and collaborative platform for maths communication.