Edward Frenkel is a professor of mathematics at University of California, Berkeley working in representation theory, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics. He is the author of the bestselling book Love and Math. In this interview Edward Frenkel talks about the beauty of mathematics, freedom, love and the sense of wonder and awe that math can ignite in taking us to a place beyond knowledge. Some of the questions he discusses are:
1. How did your love affair with math start?2. Is mathematics something we create, or we discover it?
3. Is it possible to teach math while igniting a sense of wonder and awe?
4. Is there a connection between symmetry and our sense of beauty?
5. Is symmetry is a facet of reality?
6. How mathematics is realized in the world?
7. In your book you tell the story of the French mathematician Évariste Galois, why is his story so remarkable?
8. Do you feel sometimes that the mathematical solutions come from a place beyond our knowledge?
9. You talk about mathematics in an experiential way, as love—it is very beautiful. Would you see yourself as a mystic?
10. Can you tell us about your film Rites of Love and Math?
11. Do you find freedom in mathematics?
