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Math Therapy

Why 1 + 1 isn't always 2 w/ Eugenia Cheng

Sep 11, 2025 · 50 min · 36.2 MBExplicit
0:00-50:14

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Have you ever felt like it's impossible to win an argument with someone, or even simply see eye to eye on anything?  On today's episode, mathematician Eugenia Cheng joins Vanessa to challenge the black-and-white thinking that often defines our world - especially in math class.

3 Key Topics Discussed:

  1. Why seemingly silly questions like "is math real?" or "when does 1 + 1 not equal 2?" are both valid and valuable
  2. How Eugenia works to help people overcome math trauma the way she overcame ... sports trauma!
  3. How emphasizing context, creativity, and nuance - not just right or wrong answers - can help students develop more flexible and creative thinking

Show notes:

About Eugenia Cheng: (Website, Twitter)

Dr Eugenia Cheng is a mathematician, educator, author, public speaker, columnist, concert pianist, composer and artist. Alongside her research and undergraduate teaching, her aim is to rid the world of “math phobia”.  Her first popular math book, How to Bake Pi, was published by Profile (UK)/Basic Books (US) in 2015 to widespread acclaim including from the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and she was interviewed around the world including on the BBC, NPR and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

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