Dr BikramPhookun taught the course, ‘Understanding Numbers’ at the Naropa Fellowship on 10th and 11th October, 2019. Dr Phookun is an Associate Professor of the Department of Physics, St Stephen's College, Delhi, where he has been teaching since 1996. He holds a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Maryland at College Park, USA, and a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics from St Stephen's College and Delhi University. He helped set up the Physics programme at Ashoka University, where he served as a Professor of Physics from 2017 to 2019.
Discussing how numbers are apprehended by the uneducated brain, Dr Phookun gave insights into what happens to our perception as a result of mathematical training. Our Fellows learned to make numerical estimates about real-life issues in the context of Ladakh by devising their own flow of calculations and estimates. Following this, they presented their solutions which were distilled by Dr Phookun. The course ended with activities exploring the concepts of probability and theoretical distribution.
