The Language of Numbers
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Mathematics can actually be fun! This may sound strange to many of us who see a lot of Math anxiety in school-going children. The Math Circles at LUMS, brain child of Dr. Imran Anwar, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering (SBASSE), held a session led by Drs. Anwar and Shaheen Nazir, Associate Professor, SBASSE. Sponsored by the Centre for Business and Society at LUMS, this time, the focus was on Catalan numbers, a sequence of natural numbers that occur in various counting problems.
The session commenced with Dr. Nazir introducing 'Balanced Parentheses' to the students, and making them grasp the concept of constructing balanced parentheses for various pairs. As the students manoeuvred through the problem, Dr. Anwar encouraged them to record their discoveries, laying the foundation for the next activity.
He then introduced the thrilling 'Mountain Range' conundrum; an interactive puzzle. One of the students exclaimed, "The numbers are the same as those from the balanced parentheses problem!" Then came an activity on ‘Ballot Sequence’. The budding mathematicians realised the harmonious pattern that unite the seemingly disparate problems.
With every new revelation, the once-disconnected examples are intertwined, weaving a tapestry of mathematical wonder. The group is spellbound as Dr. Anwar unveiled the history behind the triangulation of a regular polygon.
For most of the students, the ‘aha’ moment has arrived and the room is filled with an affirmative echo.
From the depths of contemplation, a hesitant hand is raised. A younger learner suggests, “What if the open parenthesis mirrors the ascent of a mountain and the closed parenthesis emulates its descent?” This validation is the culmination that Drs. Anwar and Shaheen had put together.
At the end of the session, certificates of participation were awarded and the students leave with renewed enthusiasm for mathematics.
The next session of the LUMS Math Circles will be held on September 8, 2023. To register, visit the website.
