Prof Geske here. The math education seminar is hosting a talk, this coming Monday, on the prehistory of artificial intelligence, that you may have interest in attending. Here are the details.
Title: John von Neumann and the Prehistory of Artificial Intelligence
Speaker: James Owen Weatherall (UC Irvine)
Date and Location: Mon Oct 27 @ 4:30-5:30pm in KAP 159
Summary: John von Neumann is well-known for his foundational contributions to many fields, from pure mathematics, to physics, economics, computer science, operations research, and nuclear policy. Among the most impactful was a report, drafted in Spring 1945, sketching a design proposal for an electronic digital stored-program computer that would become the blueprint for virtually all electronic computer projects developed in the years immediately following World War II. In this talk, I will track two separate strands that led to and shaped von Neumann's interest in computation: one, through his conversations and collaborations with David Hilbert, Kurt Godel, Max Newman, and Alan Turing during the 1920s and 1930s; and the other through his work on operations research and partial differential equations during World War II. These two strands intersected at a surprising juncture: a series of discussions, beginning in January 1945, with Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts, who had developed the first mathematical model of a neural network in 1943. I will describe how von Neumann took from McCulloch and Pitts the idea that both biological neurological systems and electronic computers could be seen as Turing machines, and how this led him to investigate the connections between automated computation, agentic systems, and ultimately the possibility of self-reproducing systems.
sent: Wed Oct 22
Prof Geske here. The math education seminar is hosting a talk, this coming Monday, by Prof Gerhardt and David Rosenboom, that you may have interest in attending, particularly if you have a technical appreciation for music. Here are the details.
Title: Generative Approaches in Propositional Music
Date and Location: Mon Oct 20 @ 4:30-5:30pm in KAP 159
Summary: In this talk, we discuss Rosenboom’s forthcoming book Propositional Music, a study of generative approaches in music and survey of his over sixty-year career as a composer and performer working across electronic music, minimalism, jazz, pop, and contemporary music.
sent: Tue Oct 14
Prof Geske here. Please click ☞ here to view video recordings wrapping up Lecture 18. I will typically post video recordings for Retake days, to ensure we are at pace in the course. Please view these recordings before the lecture we come back.
sent: Fri Oct 10
The Math Club will be hosting a graduate school panel this coming Monday. Current USC math faculty and grad students will discuss their experience applying to grad school, and participate in Q&A with attendees. If you are curious at all about grad school in math, then I strongly recommend you attend. Oh, and free boba tea will be provided for those who RSVP!
Graduate Panel 🎓 📅 Date: Monday, October 6th, 2025 👥 Panelists: 🎤 Moderator: David Crombecque 🧋 Bonus for Attendees: 👉 [RSVP] and enjoy free boba at the event! Please RSVP before October 6th to secure your spot (and your boba preferences).
sent: Wed Oct 01
Prof Geske here. USC's Risk Management Organization, Gamma Iota Sigma, is hosting an actuarial night tomorrow Wed Oct 1 from 6-7:30pm in JFF LL102.
If you are you curious about this career path, I recommend attending the event to listen to a speaker from the industry share their experiences and insight.
Should be fun!
If you plan to join, you should fill out this RSVP form.
sent: Tue Sep 30
Prof Geske here.
As we embark on our journey with partial derivatives, you will be asked to compute derivatives where variables are treated as constants.
I have put practice content of this kind into an optional Prepation for A4 assessment in the Review block on MyOpenMath.
These problems have multiple parts, and you unlock the next part by completing the previous part.
Also, the answers are immediately available, once you press the Jump to Answer button.
sent: Fri Sep 12
Prof Geske here.
Your TA's office hours have been added to the office hours table on the course webpage.
Please check it out!
sent: Mon Sep 08
Prof Geske here.
We will begin topic A3 on Monday.
There is some content I recommend reviewing in order to be prepared for lecture.
I have put that content into an optional Prepation for A3 assessment in the Review block on MyOpenMath.
The content to review is:
🕓 Time: 5:00 PM
📍 Location: KAP 410
Actuarial Night
MyOpenMath A4 Review
TA Office Hours
MyOpenMath A3 Review
These problems have multiple parts, and you unlock the next part by completing the previous part.
Also, the answers are immediately available, once you press the Jump to Answer button.
sent: Fri Sep 05
Prof Geske here. The Math Club will have its first meeting this coming Mon Sep 8 from 5-6pm in the math tea room, KAP 410, and will continue to have regular weekly meetings at the same time and location.
The math club is a place to meet other undergraduates with a passion for math, where you can chat math, play math-y games, enjoy snacks, occasionally learn about topics from professors or grad students, and gain insight into summer options and long-term career paths. The setting is informal and about having fun and building community. :)
If you have questions, please reach out to the math club at scmath@usc.edu. You can also email me, since I am the faculty advisor for the math club.
Lastly: I have been consolidating information about undergrad-focused math talks at the university here. The list of talks will expand as the semester continues.
sent: Wed Sep 03
Prof Geske here. This semester, the math department is running an Open Discussion for Math 226. It is an additional and optional discussion section, with a different teaching assistant, that you may choose to attend for additional practice with the course content, like going through past common final exam questions. The details are below.
sent: Mon Sep 01
Prof Geske here. As you prepare to submit your homework by the end of this Friday, here are two quick videos talking you through MyOpenMath and Gradescope. And as a reminder once again, do read the Homework Guidelines before submitting.
sent: Sun Aug 31
Prof Geske here. I am here to inform you that your first homework has been posted on MyOpenMath and Gradescope.
sent: Wed Aug 27
Prof Geske here. I am here to remind you that your first discussion section meets this week. Here is what to expect.
sent: Mon Aug 25
Welcome! This is your Math 226 instructor Prof Geske! I would like you to kindly do the following prior to your first lecture.
sent: Fri Aug 22