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SUMMARY:History of modern mathematics: a conversation
DTSTAMP:20260330T195000Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240919
DESCRIPTION:A joint event of the School of Mathematics\, IAS\, the Internat
	ional Academy for the History of Science\, and the International Commissio
	n for the History of Mathematics\n\nTalk abstract: The Classification of F
	inite Simple Groups (CFSG)\, also known as the enormous theorem\, is a hig
	hlight of 20th-century mathematics\, both with respect to its mathematical
	 content and to the complex process of proving the result. From a historic
	al perspective\, it offers an excellent opportunity to focus on more gener
	al developments in the history of 20th-century mathematics\, such as chang
	ing perceptions of what a mathematical proof is\, the character and the ma
	ny contexts of mathematics as an intergenerational and international colla
	borative enterprise\, and the impact of Cold War research policies on CFSG
	/pure mathematics. We consider the CFSG as (possibly) the first instant of
	 what we tentatively call big mathematics in this project. The existing pr
	oof of the CFSG is estimated to be spread on somewhere between 10.000 and 
	15.000 journal pages in ca. 500 separate articles written by more than 100
	 mathematicians. The unprecedented nature of this enterprise from the 1950
	s until the 1980s is quite tangible: the extraordinarily large number of m
	athematicians involved internationally (working as a team)\, the difficult
	y and complexity of the problem\, the use of computers within the proof\, 
	the effect of the Cold War on CFSG/pure mathematics (e.g. via new funding 
	possibilities by both civil and military agencies). The history of CFSG ha
	s to be studied as a key example of the impact of politics on research in 
	pure mathematics in the Cold War\, namely via new possibilities of funding
	 research in general and of mathematical research in particular\, a largel
	y unexplored territory\, but crucial for CFSG. The historical analysis wil
	l be guided by three themes: suitability of big mathematics as an analytic
	al concept\, the role of self-historicization in CFSG\, and the changing n
	ature of proof in mathematics in the second half of the 20th century.\n\n\
	nAbout the panel discussion:    There is much opportunity for collaboratio
	n between mathematicians and historians to examine together the recent his
	tory of mathematics.  The practice of mathematics has changed greatly over
	 the course of the twentieth century\, and even more rapidly in recent yea
	rs with the rise of computing and the internet. A deeper understanding of 
	how cultural\, intellectual\, political\, and social factors have interact
	ed with and shaped the recent evolution of the discipline would be valuabl
	e both as intellectual history\, and to inform the way mathematicians them
	selves think about their subject and anticipate to its future.  This panel
	 will look at the difficulties and possibilities of such collaborative his
	torical work.
URL:https://www.ias.edu/math/events/history-modern-mathematics-conversation
LOCATION:Princeton/USA
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