IMPA Participates in a Debate on the Role of Mathematics in Society

How does mathematics influence the economy, education, and even the functioning of democracies? This is one of the questions addressed by the documentary Counted Out (Excluded by Mathematics), which will be screened at a special showing on September 18 in São Paulo. The event will be followed by a panel discussion featuring IMPA Director-General Marcelo Viana.

Organized by Insper, the Harvard Alumni Club of Brazil, and the Sidarta Institute, the film screening and discussion will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Insper auditorium in Vila Olímpia. The session will feature a dubbed version of the documentary, the result of a partnership between the Sidarta Institute, the Ayrton Senna Institute, Iede, and IMPA.

Directed by filmmaker and educator Vicki Abeles, Counted Out explores the role of mathematics in society and shows how access to mathematical knowledge can influence individual opportunities and decisions that affect the entire population. The film also discusses the relationships between mathematics, inequality, education, the economy, and democracy.

Following the screening, a panel discussion will feature Marcelo Viana; Fernanda Viégas, a professor of computer science at Harvard University; and Tiago Bartolo, a professor in the Department of Education at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). The discussion will be moderated by Naercio Aquino Menezes Filho, full professor of the Ruth Cardoso Chair at Insper.

The initiative is part of an international movement that seeks to broaden the debate on the role of mathematics in society and encourage new ways of thinking about the teaching and learning of the subject.

The event is free, but space is limited. The program will take place in the Insper Auditorium, located at Rua Quatá, 300, Vila Olímpia, São Paulo. Sign up here to participate.