BLAM is an innovative, two-week, residential interdisciplinary program. In BLAM, we will use mathematics as a starting point for our explorations of logic, literature, art, music, and history. We will focus on mathematics that is considered extracurricular for middle and high school students, but which is nevertheless accessible for those students. We will use interactive demonstrations to connect the mathematics we study to other fields in the spirit of a liberal arts education.

We will explore: the logical foundations of mathematics and their connection to the writings of Lewis Carroll and Raymond Smullyan; the earth-shattering discoveries of irrational numbers and non-Euclidean geometries; how fractals are mathematically generated, along with their use in art; the mathematics of tessellations, and M.C. Escher's use of them in his works; the relationships between number theory and musical scales, and how those relationships helped shape the world view of the Pythagorean movement; how an eighteenth century puzzle led to the theory behind computer networks; how the shapes of bubbles help us to create better product packaging; and other topics chosen from among the interests of our participants.

All classes will emphasize problem solving, collaborative learning, and experiential learning.

July 18 through July 31, 2010

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