Mathematician Alicia Dickenstein will head Argentina's National Academy of Exact Sciences

the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences Subordinate Argentina Celebrating its 150th anniversary. Its board of directors, which is headed by a geologist Victor Ramoswill be renewed and selected by For the first time in history From the prestigious institution to a slim. that it doctor In mathematics Alicia DickensteinWho will begin to serve as president Starting next May.

Dickenstein He devoted his career to Research in pure mathematicsShe is passionate about knowledge and adheres to an axiom that she repeats out loud: “Thinking is fun“.

“Mathematics is much less abstract than it sounds, it's not just about calculations, it's about trying to do it Understand what structures are “What lies behind what we see is removing everything that is attached and understanding what we may not actually see at first glance,” he said. Infobae after a series of conversations Which he presented at the Institute of Mathematics Oxford universityUnited kingdom.

The researcher is far from being a distant and isolated figure in the academy. On the contrary, it is A warm and simple worldHe speaks quickly and without pausing, his words flowing enthusiastically into each concept he patiently explains.

When I was a teenager, Dickenstein He graduated from the National School of Buenos Aires. Then, in 1973, he graduated in mathematical sciences at the university Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos AiresWhere he also obtained a doctorate degree.With a thesis on complex analytical geometry.

He was First Director of the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences at UBA Between 1996 and 1998. Today she is a Senior Researcher at CONSET and Professor Emeritus at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).

For Dickenstein, mathematical knowledge allows us to decode everyday reality and develop critical thinking. It gives us tools to review and question what is given to us as a solution: “It allows you to stop and look away a little, which is why I suppose that developing mathematical thinking helps you.” Be more vigilant“.

This ability to deduce and interpret is invaluable in modern society, and even more so for children and adolescents, digital natives who navigate in an ocean of content from social networks and other information platforms. “Mathematical thinking even helps you spot fake news,” he said.

He expressed, “It is very important to stimulate mathematical thinking in new generations, in children, teenagers and university students in any profession. But the most important thing is to make children think about a certain situation in primary school: What are they telling me? Should I accept it as it is?” Or should I look a little further?

Dickenstein received the 2015 TWAS (World Academy of Sciences) Prize in Mathematics, an international award L'Oréal-UNESCO 2021 “For Women in Science” And the Conex Platinum 2023.

Through her work as an educator, she has written mathematics books for boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 13, writing not just from a regional perspective, but from a global perspective, which is in fact her first book.”Matemax“Posted by American Mathematical Society In a bilingual Spanish and English version in 2020.

For Dickenstein, the advice for parents is this Trust your childrenwhich You can learn mathematics. He said, “Don't worry, I was bad at math,” that's the worst thing parents can say to their children.

“Because that's how knowledge is inhibited. There's a routine part in mathematics, you have to start working and do it several times, you have to do it He works hard. But this happens in any discipline you want to learn, if you want to play sports or be an artist, accountant or painter, you always have to sit down and work.

He realized that mathematics also has its own language. And if no one understands The language of mathematicsIt becomes an obstacle to thinking. I understand that it may be more difficult than other disciplines, but I always stick to the idea of ​​it Mathematics is engraved in our brain. There will be those who have more or less abilities, more or less interest, but mathematics is universal and It is as ingrained in humans as speaking or writing.