Friday the 31st of July 2015 was truly a day to be remembered as Crypto Giants was visited by none other than Prof. C.Labuschagne from the University of Johannesburg. Having been someone who has done research in the pure maths field for the better part of 20 years, Prof. C.Labuschagne now does research primarily in the mathematics of finance field which he believes has a lot more that is unknown when compared with pure maths. His presentation was truly remarkable as he informed us on some interesting facts on the mathematics of finance. These facts include that there exists an interaction between the maths of finance, probability theory (including stochastic processes) and functional analysis. We were also informed on subtle differences between functional analysts and mathematicians: functional analysts basically study the notion of distance (and what properties describe distance) whereas mathematicians study concepts such as order (e.g. partial order or ordered spaces).
We also had some students on post graduate level present on the day; and I have no doubt that those doing any kind of financial mathematical research found his presentation very helpful and informative.
In conclusion Prof. C.Labuschagne’s discourse was very helpful as it gave those who have not decided if/what they will study on a post graduate level – which was the majority of those from the Crypto Giants – more options to consider on what to do with their careers as we look to make our mark on the world of mathematics.
Article by: Kuselo Ntsaluba
Crypto Giants is a group of young, enthusiastic, diverse and mathematically-minded individuals who are passionate about the complex properties of numbers as well as Mathematics as a whole and its application in daily life. They are embarking on a problem-solving journey by tackling various mathematical problems and research projects, which will help them to enhance their mathematical skills and analytical thinking processes, thus discovering different approaches to problems at hand. They strive to learn more from the experts whom are willing to impart their knowledge to them concerning their different (research) fields.
The field of mathematics covered in these projects are the following: Elementary number theory, basic analysis, creative mathematics and logic and set theory. The applications of the above fields are found in Cryptography(RSA) and Mathematical optics. Students are challenged to understand the basic theory of mathematics and applying it in physics, biology, finance and computer science for example. The students challenged to solve Cryptography problems using Mathematica and Matlab, and to write their report using latex. They are also challenged to solve logic puzzles and discussions about logical fallacies forms part of the program. Fuzzy-logical problem-solving through lateral thinking is a structured session as well.
The program is structured to prepare students for honours level mathematics, and they are expected to present their literature review to the group and come up with their own examples where applicable.
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