{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Forged: Timeless Ways of Living","title":"Encountering the Real: Mathematics, Education, and AI with Jake Tawney","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4180,"description":"What if mathematics is not merely a tool for solving problems, but a way of encountering reality? In this episode of Forged, Brian Williams talks with mathematician and educator Jake Tawney about the beauty of number and shape, why wonder belongs at the heart of education, and what we risk losing when technology begins doing our thinking for us. From Euclid and fractals to calculators and artificial intelligence, Jake makes the case that education should begin with real things worth knowing and loving. Their conversation ultimately turns toward a larger question: What habits, practices, and encounters help us become more fully human?\n\nJake and Brian explore why mathematics has so often been reduced to computation, how teachers can invite students into genuine wonder, and why AI raises deeper questions than efficiency alone. Jake also reflects on the practices that have shaped his own life as a husband and father, including prayer, cooking, wine, reading aloud, and the conviction that our first calling is to give ourselves for the good of others.\nBooks & Resources Mentioned\nAnother Sort of Mathematics: Selected Proofs Necessary to Acquire a True Education in Mathematics by Jake Tawney\nEuclid’s Elements\nA Mathematician’s Lament by Paul Lockhart\nThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis\nGaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), especially paragraphs 22 and 24\nAbout the Guest\nJacob Tawney (Jake) has been enamored by mathematics for as long as he can remember, from kindergarten to calculus. But he truly fell in love with it during his sophomore year at Denison University during a course on mathematical proofs. After completing an undergraduate degree in mathematics and computer science from Denison, he continued his studies at The Ohio State University. There he earned a master’s degree in mathematics, submitting a thesis on the mathematics of juggling. During his time in Ohio, Tawney taught at Upper Arlington High School and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/KTbBD8bgFaq-gNjtcFVbWCDJ5WjX2yagnVN5576RNCo/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kODQ0/ZTJmNmZkMzNhM2Nm/YjUyMzFhYzEzZjkz/NTExMi5qcGVn.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}