Podcast Summary:

New Books Network – Interview with Al Posamentier on "Math Makers: The Lives and Works of 50 Famous Mathematicians"
Host: Jim Stein
Guest: Al Posamentier
Date: November 9, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of New Books in Mathematics features a lively discussion between host Jim Stein and mathematician/author Al Posamentier about his book Math Makers: The Lives and Works of 50 Famous Mathematicians. The conversation explores not just mathematical innovations, but the quirky, human, and often dramatic backstories of history’s greatest mathematicians. From lesser-known figures and women mathematicians to the unexpected ways mathematics has developed, the episode is designed to engage both those interested in the stories behind mathematics and those curious about the subject’s broader role in human history.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. The Book’s Motivation and Format

• Humanizing Mathematicians
  • Posamentier’s goal is to “give another form of life to mathematics…to make [people] realize that mathematics is more than what we just learned in school.” (03:04)
• Concise, Accessible Biographies
  • Stein expresses appreciation for the format, with each biography being “read in a short period of time” and comprising “the highlights of each person’s life and achievements.” (02:26)
  • The book also functions as a “history of mathematics.” (02:53)
• Inclusion and Diversity
  • Posamentier highlights that the book “included quite a few women mathematicians who heretofore have been pretty much ignored, as they were during their lifetime” (02:53), plus figures from beyond Europe.

2. Criteria for Selection

• Selection based on mathematicians’ influence on topics “we learn today,” with an emphasis on those whose work can be appreciated by general readers, not just specialists
• Subjectivity acknowledged; balance between “coverage” and “readability” (03:43)

3. Mathematicians and Their Stories (Chronological Highlights)

Ancient World

• Thales and the origins of basic geometry (04:26)
• Pythagoras: More than just the famous theorem—also a cult leader, and the Pythagorean relationship predates him (Chinese and other ancient cultures) (05:48)
• Eudoxus: Early precursor to calculus with the “method of exhaustion” (06:40)
• Eratosthenes: Measured the Earth’s circumference “very close to correct” with simple geometry (07:41)
• Diophantus: Created foundations for studying equations whose solutions are integers—Diophantine equations (08:32)

Middle Ages to Early Modern

• Fibonacci: Popularized what we call Hindu-Arabic numerals and introduced the fraction bar (09:24). Learned from Arab mathematicians in Africa—Fibonacci “came across these Indian numbers… and this thing called Zephyr, which we call zero today.” (09:47)
• John Napier: Invented Napier’s rods, forerunner to the slide rule, an early mechanical calculator. (11:25)
• Kepler: Discoverer of laws of planetary motion—known for “fudging” data due to his crude instruments, but still correct (12:53)
• Descartes, Fermat, Pascal: Laid the groundwork for probability theory through correspondence about gambling (13:13)
• Newton and Leibniz: Both “rediscover” calculus; we use Leibniz’s notation (13:38)

Noteworthy Individuals and Stories

• Giovanni Siva: Siva’s theorem about concurrence in triangles—“so simple and yet provides a lot of insight” (14:14)
• Robert Simpson: First English translation of Euclid’s Elements, created the template for high school geometry (15:39)
  • Discussion of how Greeks worked without paper—“etched on stone,” “wrote on parchment—whatever they could” (17:04)
• Christian Goldbach: Known solely for the never-proven Goldbach Conjecture about prime numbers (17:48)
• Leonhard Euler: Prolific despite blindness—“wrote more while he was blind than when he was able to see… his memory was so phenomenal.” (19:24)

Women in Mathematics

• Maria Gaetana Agnesi: First female professor at a European university (Bologna), famous for the “witch of Agnesi” curve (19:52)
• Sophie Germain: Self-taught, contributed to Fermat’s Last Theorem, much of her recognition came posthumously (22:54)
• Sofia Kovalevskaya: Inspired by mathematical wallpaper, first woman to get a doctorate and professorship in mathematics (32:00)
• Emmy Noether: Fled Nazi Germany, joined Bryn Mawr, received high praise from Einstein (33:12)
• Maryam Mirzakhani: First woman to win the Fields Medal; died very young. Personal story about acquiring her photo for the book (47:26)

Other Highlights

• Carl Friedrich Gauss: Mathematical prodigy, constructed 17-sided polygon, legendary mental calculation as a child (25:51)
• Ada Lovelace: Collaborator with Charles Babbage, considered the founder of computer programming (30:41)
• Évariste Galois: Died in a duel at age 20, left behind Galois theory—wrote it all down the night before his death (31:22)
• Srinivasa Ramanujan: Indian mathematical genius, “the smallest number that can be expressed the sum of two cubes in two different ways” story (35:26)
• John von Neumann: Founder of game theory and pioneer in computers, famous for brilliance in mental math (36:46)
• Alan Turing: Broke Nazi codes during WWII; founding figure of theoretical computer science (41:11)
• Paul Erdős: Wrote 1,500 papers, never had a permanent residence, “Erdős number” system of collaboration (41:56)
  • Notable exchange:
    • Jim Stein: “I have an Erdős number of two.” (42:28)
    • Al Posamentier: “Oh, you're better than I am. I have an Erdős number of three.” (42:31)

Nobel Prize and Mathematicians

• Herbert Hauptman: Won Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work in crystallography—first mathematician so honored; the backstory of academic politics and recognition (44:08)
• On Attribution: Stories about mistaken or shared credits, such as Mascheroni constructions and Simpson’s Theorem, and how mathematical results are sometimes “rediscovered” (21:12)

4. Memorable Quotes & Anecdotes

• On the eccentricity of mathematicians:
  • “Anybody who is as brilliant as those folks that we have selected for this cannot have lived a normal social life… you can’t think the way a normal person thinks and still come up with these outrageously incredible discoveries.” (04:19)
• On accessibility for readers:
  • “We picked a few things… the average reader can go out and, hey, let me see if that’s true with a cube… we try with every one of the mathematicians to say something about what they did, not just their life.” (50:32)
• Gauss’s legendary childhood calculation:
  • “He said, wait a minute, that’s silly. If I add 1 and 100, I get 101… I got 50, 101’s. So I just have to multiply 50 times 101—I get 5050. And that’s the answer… third grade!” (25:51)
• On Ramanujan and 1729:
  • Stein: “I can’t make any sense out of this number.”
    Posamentier: “…that’s the smallest number that can be expressed as a sum of two cubes in two different ways.” (35:26)
• On the Fields Medal:
  • “The Fields Medal is only awarded every four years. And if mathematicians don’t feel that there’s anything good done in the last four years, they don’t award it. And Mirzakhani not only got it, she was the first woman to be awarded a Fields Medal.” (48:33)

5. Bringing Math to the People & Future Plans

• Posamentier describes his ongoing mission to make math accessible and enjoyable, fighting the tendency of people to wear their math aversion as a “badge of honor.” (54:08)
• Forthcoming projects:
  • The Joy of Geometry: Geometric relationships without proofs (54:08)
  • Math Tricks: Entertaining mathematical curiosities

Selected Timestamps

• 01:43 – Posamentier’s motivation for the book
• 02:53 – Inclusion of women and non-European mathematicians
• 05:48 – Stories about Pythagoras and the Pythagorean theorem’s true history
• 09:24 – Fibonacci, numerals, and the fraction bar
• 13:13 – Descartes, Fermat, and probability
• 17:48 – Goldbach Conjecture as a singular legacy
• 19:24 – Euler’s productivity despite blindness
• 22:54 – Sophie Germain’s self-education and contributions
• 25:51 – Gauss’s childhood addition story
• 30:41 – Ada Lovelace’s foundational computer programming
• 31:22 – Galois’ tragic duel as the origin of Galois theory
• 35:26 – Ramanujan and the taxi-cab number
• 36:46 – von Neumann’s mental prowess
• 41:11 – Turing and World War II
• 41:56 – Paul Erdős and mathematical collaboration
• 44:08 – Herbert Hauptman’s Nobel Prize journey
• 47:26 – Maryam Mirzakhani’s Fields Medal and photo
• 50:32 – Making mathematical results accessible
• 54:08 – Upcoming books and Posamentier’s mission

Tone and Style

• The episode is marked by camaraderie, light-hearted exchanges, and enthusiasm for both mathematics and the people behind it.
• Both Stein and Posamentier take care to emphasize stories over technical complexity, using humor and anecdotes to humanize their subjects.
• The language is accessible, with jargon minimized for a general audience.

Conclusion

The episode paints a broad yet personal portrait of mathematics, not as an abstract discipline but as a field deeply shaped by vivid individuals—eccentric, brilliant, sometimes tragic, always fascinating. If you want the spirit and surprise of mathematical discovery, as well as the best stories, Math Makers is a book—and this is an episode—you’ll want to experience.