When math simply just doesn't make sense! Paradoxes are one of the coolest things to look at for a beginner mathematician like you! Come discover when logic fails in the seemingly air-tight world of mathematics - it happens!

Also known as cryptography - one of the most useful and powerful mathematical tools used today. If you've watched The Imitation Game, then you might have an idea of what to expect in this class (and if you haven't watched it, I'd highly recommend it !) We will look at how people can hide their messages in plain sight, and how you can also uncover these secret messages! There will be races and prizes to see who can crack certain codes the quickest!

Mathematics has been developing for thousands of years. In this class, we'll learn about Archimedes and some of the mathematics he developed so many years ago in Ancient Greece. We'll take a look at his unique way of computing areas and volumes of geometric shapes, his fascination with the number infinity, and how he was able to approximate pi. You'll be surprised at how much he accomplished with the relatively simple mathematics of his day!

Mathematics is based on proof, i.e. logical justification. This class will introduce a few common techniques, including direct proof, proof by induction, and proof by contradiction, for proving mathematical statements. I will give a brief lecture with some examples, and then we will work in groups on some cool problems to practice these techniques. This class will show you how simply and elegantly some mathematical facts can be proved!

No oven, no refrigerator. What desserts can you possibly make in a classroom without these two appliances? Take this class to find out! Email me at una.boyle@yale.edu if you have any questions, concerns, or food allergies.

So you've played tic tac toe before--and I bet you think you've got it all figured out. But what if your tic tac toe board suddenly mutated into a 3 dimensional monstrosity? What if each move had a price?? What if the whole game suddenly became infinitely large??? We'll analyze some of the hidden complexities of traditional tic tac toe before moving on to learning (and playing!) some more extreme variations.

We'll dabble a bit in graph theory, game theory, and probability theory. This class will be primarily designed so that you get a very basic idea of the problems you can solve with these areas of math. We'll outline some fundamental principles in each area through interesting examples (we will actually play a few games when we get to game theory).

Fractals…you know what they look like, but do you have any idea what they really are? Come join us to find out how a coastline could be of infinite length, a shape can be log(3) dimensional, and infinite cats can turn into…well, I won’t spoil it for you, but I promise it’s awesome.

Fractals...you know what they look like, but do you have any idea what they really are? Come join us to find out how a coastline could be of infinite length, a shape can be log(3) dimensional, and infinite cats can turn into...well, I won't spoil it for you, but I promise it's awesome.

What would happen on a mysterious island where nobody tells the truth? How could a blind man figure out the color of his hat? And how could a crafty prisoner subjected to a diabolical set of rules successfully free the jail? We'll look at these puzzles and more, both interactively and from a mathematical perspective. So come join us to do some math, eat some snacks, and find out how useful it is to know what you don't know!