Zoom Interview between Susan Gerofsky and Nick Sayer 

 

 "I guess when I was little, when I was about, I remember about 6 or 7, I remember numbers just really terrifying, and I felt like I was really bad at it. My mum got quite impatient with my ability to do longer arithmetic. Remembering times tables and all these sorts of things. So, I had this belief set in my mind quite early on that I was bad at maths".00:05:25

"I've used all sorts of materials to make my, including this one, which is a geodesic haircut, I had, a few years ago, actually, when I went to Bridges Maths Art Conference in 2013, I think, and then I did another one". 00:16:59

Listening to Nick's story deeply resonates with my own journey as a mathematician. It highlights the hurdles we face in our relationship with math as we strive to discover our true selves. Like Nick, I also had parents and teachers who played pivotal roles in my growth and success. This reflects how the people we encounter shape who we become. It is important to note that no matter how daunting math may seem to students, change is always possible. I’m thrilled about the new integration of math and art, which is transforming the way we approach the subject as it helps alleviate the fears many students face. Nick’s haircut, with its unique shape patterns, is a beautiful representation of his evolution through struggles. It symbolizes how he has embraced math as part of his identity, turning challenges into something personal and expressive. This connection between math and art is truly inspiring!

"I feel there are these estate agent advertising boards all over the city, cluttering our sort of visual space. Meanwhile, there’s a homelessness crisis, and I was renting a home at the time. trying to get on the housing ladder, and so I wanted to make a statement about homelessness and sustainable architecture and the housing, you know, market and other things. I guess it went, again, beyond just the mathematics of it".00:21:40

In reflecting on Nick's quote, I appreciate how he uses art to illuminate mathematical concepts and address societal issues. His slot-together cord sculptures not only showcase mathematical patterns but also draw attention to pressing topics like homelessness and the clutter of advertising in urban spaces. By incorporating recycled materials, he engages with ideas of sustainability and social responsibility, showing that mathematics can be a lens through which we understand and respond to real-world challenges. This connection highlights the role of ethnography in mathematics, allowing us to see how our lived experiences can inform and enrich our understanding of mathematical concepts. It inspires me to think about how I can use mathematics in similar ways to engage with pressing issues in my own community.

"This is actually the pattern of the 18 gears that this bicycle spirograph has, and you can actually see that top left is just a circle, because that’s where you‘re struggling up the hill, and you‘re at the speed that your crank speed is as the wheel speed, whereas the bottom right, that’s where your"00:36:38

The bicycle spirograph elegantly illustrates the connection between mathematics and motion through repeated rational motion. Each traced point reflects the simultaneous revolutions of the crank and wheel, represented as periodic functions such as sine and cosine. The relationship between these rotations, particularly the gear ratios, is crucial; a 1:1 ratio produces a simple circle, while ratios like 1:3 or 2:5 create intricate multi-petaled shapes. This interplay reveals how algebra (through ratios) manifests as geometric patterns, highlighting concepts such as symmetry and least common multiples (LCM) in rotation. It's fascinating how cycling can so deeply intertwine with mathematical principles.

"I brought this little mascot, which is my Lego Spaceman from the 1980s, but I also went to the vegetable market there and found that Jupiter is a coconut in its shell. And then Saturn is a coconut with its husk taken. And then these two fruits here, Uranus and Neptune, are about the same sort of size and got this wrong. I started doing workshops, making these little cameras, so, rather than using them again, when I started, I brought in a whole bag full of beer cans into schools. I quickly realized it felt a bit weird, so I made another version using soft drink cans".01:07:38

I really appreciate the fact that in explaining his concepts, Nick uses familiar resources like cans for a camera, bottles for Christmas trees, fruits for the description of the planet, a train ticket for a sphere and lots of other things. This helps to drive home the idea that science and mathematics are all around us and not far away. To further make his point more explicit, he carefully selects items that suit the purpose of what he is trying to portray, like coconuts and other fruits, to explain the planets so the children can relate to the size of each planet in relation to one another.