The Power of Print
Editor’s Note: This post is adapted from the November 2024 “Aftermath” column in Math Horizons.
By Tom Edgar
I took over as editor of Math Horizons at the beginning of 2020, and I admit that I had my doubts about the sustainability of a print magazine. Math Horizons started in 1993 when digital resources weren’t readily available at your fingertips. The magazine served as one of the only ways that undergraduates could learn about the mathematical landscape beyond their introductory studies. As I started that role, I wasn’t sure if Math Horizons still made sense for its intended audience. Little did I know that a global pandemic would hit a few months later and provide me with an entirely new context through which to think about print media.
During the pandemic, like everyone else, I spent way too much time online. I began to feel trapped in the digital world: teaching my virtual classes, having Zoom meetings with friends, and doom-scrolling on social media, all in addition to my previous typical uses of the internet. To deal with the virtual overload, I made sure to spend time with my family outside. I also relished in unplugging to review the submissions I received at Math Horizons and reading my print copies of other MAA periodicals including The American Mathematical Monthly, The College Math Journal, MAA FOCUS, and Mathematics Magazine.
Sure, I can read these same resources online, but the notifications (ding!), the ease of switching gears to check email or websites, and other digital distractions make it challenging to carefully read articles online. By turning to print, I disconnect and spend focused time learning interesting ideas from others in the discipline. I give my brain a break from the multitasking required to navigate the digital world. In under 30 minutes, I can read a Math Horizons article and fully work out the details, typically allowing me to learn at least one new concept or idea.
For example, I learned about current and past mathematicians and their influential ideas. I discovered fascinating facts about mathematical topics such as pattern avoidance in permutations, multiply-perfect numbers, tiling-invariants, mathematical April fools, SET-inspired objects (and more), volumes of higher dimensional solids, dancing numbers, mathematical magic tricks, and mathematical constants, just to name a few. I played with math—by building various paper models, by pretending to be a dinner-party guest of a cryptographer, and by “escaping from the MAA storage room”—and found inspiration in visualizations and colorful diagrams. I enjoyed the varying viewpoints about what makes mathematics amazing. I honed my puzzling skills, and I even took numerous opportunities to romp around The Playground (the Math Horizons problems section), where I got a taste of solving interesting problems with students and seeing their efforts recognized in publication. The print version of this magazine allows you to do all this without other digital distractions.
There are fantastic online outlets, such as Quanta Magazine, that offer similar content. They can respond more quickly to recent news. However, those articles are typically more journalistic and a bit more superficial in terms of mathematical coverage. And even MAA offers this blog, but blog posts are designed to be short and quickly digestible. In contrast, print outlets like the MAA periodicals probe deeper into the relevant mathematics, serving as a good jumping off point for those wanting to know more. For example, Mike Brilleslyper and Beth Schaubroeck wrote an article in the November 2024 issue of Math Horizons providing inspiration for research problems at the undergraduate level.
Now that I have completed my duties as editor of Math Horizons (my final issue appeared in November 2024), I have advice for you. Just as you still spend time reading print copies of books, spend a few minutes each day reading print copies of math journals. You will learn more than you can imagine, and you will enjoy the focused time that allows you to broaden your mathematical horizons. Set a goal to read a few minutes per day, varying your daily reading over the different levels afforded by the MAA publications.
In addition to reading these valuable print outlets, I also recommend that you consider contributing your own ideas to these enduring resources. Dan Kalman, a consistent Math Horizons author, once told me that “everyone has a Math Horizons article in them,” and I agree. What’s your favorite mathematics to share with others? Think about sharing those ideas with the masses, or at least with current students and future mathematicians. With your involvement, print media can provide support for mathematics to endure as a worthwhile human endeavor.
A note to readers: Math Horizons and other MAA periodicals are free for MAA members. To access the articles in the links above as well as your other subscriptions, log in to the member portal at maa.org, and then select the "MAA Journals" option in the "MAA Publications" menu. Of course, MAA Plus Print members can just read the print versions!
Tom Edgar is currently a distinguished visiting professor at the United States Air Force Academy. He is the outgoing editor of Math Horizons, and he is behind the YouTube channel @mathvisualproofs.