Topic: symmetry

Jessica Fintzen discusses symmetry and representation theory, including how mathematical ideas can describe infinitely many related objects at once. The conversation introduces the work recognized by her European Mathematical Society Prize and offers a personal account of research and life in mathematics.

Justin Chen introduces groups as collections of actions and explains their relationship to symmetry. The discussion uses accessible examples to show the power of abstraction, then considers the challenges of explaining group theory to non-specialists. Chen also reflects on his experience communicating mathematics and his plans for further study.

Neuronal network computation and computation by avalanche supporting networks are of interest to the fields of physics, computer science (computation theory as well as statistical or machine learning) and neuroscience. Here we show that computation of complex Boolean functions arises spontaneously in threshold networks as a function of connectivity and antagonism (inhibition), computed by logic automata (motifs) in the form of computational cascades. We explain the emergent inverse relationship between the computational complexity of the motifs and their rank-ordering by function probabilities

Figure-ground organisation and perceptual grouping are classic topics in Gestalt and perceptual psychology. They often appear alongside one another in introductory textbook chapters on perception and have a long history of investigation. However, they are typically discussed as separate processes of perceptual organisation with their own distinct phenomena and mechanisms. Here, I will propose that perceptual grouping and figure-ground organisation are strongly linked. In particular, perceptual grouping can provide a basis for, and may share mechanisms with, a wide range of figure-ground princi