Seminar in Number Theory, 18.784, Spring 2025
Welcome to 18.784: Seminar in Number Theory! This course is a Communication Intensive in Mathematics (CI-M) for undergraduates at MIT. This semester, we will explore arithmetic dynamics — an area of mathematics that studies how numbers move. The subject lies at the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory, involving a breadth of mathematical disciplines including:
Students will prepare a short paper and present specific topics in arithmetic dynamics. Grading is primarily based on the paper, presentations, and active participation during the semester. Prerequisites for the course are Algebra 1 (18.701) or (Modern Algebra (18.703) and Linear Algebra (18.06 or 18.700)). |
| Date | Speaker | Title | References |
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| February 4 | Robin Zhang Emily Robinson |
Organizational meeting Communications workshop: preparing for presentations |
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| February 6 | All students Robin Zhang |
3-minute introductory talks (favorite definition/example/theorem) Background on number theory |
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| February 11 | — (pair presentation) — (pair presentation) |
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| February 13 | — (pair presentation) — (pair presentation) |
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| February 18 | — (pair presentation) — (pair presentation) |
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| February 20 | — (pair presentation) — (pair presentation) |
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| February 25 | Emily Robinson | Communications workshop: effective mathematics presentations | |
| February 27 | — (pair presentation) — (pair presentation) |
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| March 4 | — (pair presentation) — (pair presentation) |
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| March 6 | — (pair presentation) — (pair presentation) |
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| March 11 | Robin Zhang | Introduce paper assignment LaTeX tutorial |
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| March 13 | Emily Robinson | Communications workshop: reading assignment | |
| March 18 (paper topic proposal due) |
— (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) |
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| March 20 | — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) |
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| March 25 | Spring Break (no meeting) | Spring Break (no meeting) | — |
| March 27 | Spring Break (no meeting) | Spring Break (no meeting) | — |
| April 1 | — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) |
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| April 3 | — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) |
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| April 8 | — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) — (short solo presentation) |
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| April 10 (paper first draft due) |
Emily Robinson | Communications workshop: rhetorical strategies for writing about mathematics effectively | |
| April 15 | — (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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| April 17 | — (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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| April 22 | — (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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| April 24 (paper second draft due) |
— (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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| April 29 | — (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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| May 1 | All students | Peer review on papers | |
| May 6 | — (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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| May 8 | — (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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| May 13 (paper final draft due) |
— (long solo presentation) — (long solo presentation) |
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Books
Notes
YouTube videos
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