Here’s a circle that keeps getting bigger and better; the LUMS Math Circle! What started off as a novel idea emanating from the halls of the Department of Mathematics, in the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering, as grown into a torrent of curious thoughts and engaging activities, all centered around the beautiful and visual world of Math. This growth is made possible by the combined effort of organizers, parents, and sponsors. What went down in the latest Math Circle? Let’s ‘loop’ in with the latest updates.

Dr. Waqas Ali Azhar brought an enticing topic of exposing school kids to the charisma of infinities beyond our limitations. Yes, you read that right, infinities; plural). This math circle was conducted on February 18 and saw participation from as far as Nankana Sahib, with 13 students coming from that district to attend the event. In total, around 35 students from various school and colleges attended the circle. It is probably the only forum where students from various school get an opportunity to interact with each other and engage in informal ways of learning. 

So, how did it go? Dr. Waqas started the circle with a task of finding sum of first 100 number (integers) (i.e 1 + 2 + 3 + . . .+100). Students drilled hard to find a suitable answer where they were even allowed to use the calculators. Then he explained the genius of a famous mathematician Carl F. Gauss, who did it without using any calculator using a beautiful method.

He then gave a challenge to all participants, to fold a sheet of paper 10-time! An impossible task, since the thickness of the sheet increases exponentially. Students were amazed to know that 45 folds will result in a thickness that is equivalent to the distance between the Earth and the Moon! He kept on blowing minds by sharing such mind boggling facts, one after another. Factoids like Zeno's paradox, that yields a surprising infinite sum whose answer is a finite number. This is one of the most spell binding paradoxes, challenging the core concept of space and time. Dr. Waqas continued with introduction of exciting series of paradoxes.  

A game was played between students to come-up with the largest possible number they can write on the page within 10 seconds. As part of this activity, participants learned the role of exponents. Dr. Waqas revealed astronomically large numbers like the googol, googol-plex and Graham number. Students were amazed to learn about the fact that Graham number is so large that the observable universe is far too small to contain an ordinary digital representation of it, assuming that each digit occupies one Planck volume, possibly the smallest measurable space. Concluding the session, Dr. Waqas wisely gave the counter-concept of infinitesimal, through the Archimede's way of approximating the value of Pi through inscribed regular polygons.

“Dr. Waqas Ali Azhar did a remarkable job and deserve huge applaud for bringing excitingly important concepts in a highly interactive manner.”, said the chair of the department, Dr. Imran Anwar. “I applaud the efforts of Ms. Noreen Sohail as well, for her dedicated organizational support.”, Dr. Imran also commented. The Chair also expressed his gratitude to all sponsors, who made the event possible and have committed to support endeavors of this wonderful initiative, including the Pak Alliance for Maths and Science and the LUMS Students Mathematics Society.

To find out more about future Math Circle events including an upcoming mega event, please visit this link.