“Is a short story like a mathematical proof?” 

Natalie Elliot, St. John’s College, Santa Fe 

Friday, November 12, 4:45 p.m.

Mathematical proofs and short stories are strange imaginative objects. When we engage with their internal rigor, they can exert immense power over our minds and psyches. While they seem strikingly different, if one spends time with both of them side by side, first treating each on its own terms, then comparing them, some of the similarities and differences that crop up turn out to be illuminating. Mathematical proofs demand that we engage our cognition creatively; they teach us to recover or perhaps even grow intuitions; they reckon with what seems irreconcilable; they challenge sacred assumptions; they are driven, often, by paradox. So, too, in their own way, with short stories—or at least those kinds of short stories that ask existential questions. What do we learn by comparing mathematical proofs and short stories?  We start to see more clearly the unique kinds of cognitive-psychological transformations that both narrative art and mathematics bring about. We learn that cognitive and emotional intuitions share structures. Above all, we gain a greater appreciation for the breadth, depth, and creative power of the human imagination.  

Zoom Link for Webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84317816785 

Zoom Link for Question Period: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82712399616?pwd=VVhRRk5NV3FMeVZQQUNsbDJ2VmdpQT09 

Meeting ID: 827 1239 9616 

Passcode: 402412