Blimey! Did a British Pure Mathematician Just Explain to Me Why American Politics Looks the Way it Does?

It doesn’t event take 10 minutes for Dr. Eugenia Cheng (known also for her quantitative baking chops) to go from an abstract mathematical model to socio-political insights. Seriously. She starts with a factor tree and then shows how using its logic can provide serious insights beyond numbers and formulas. Specifically, she demonstrates how prevailing logics in Western politics do not play out the way you think they do. That is, how people who are “non-rich” can swing politically despite their being identified as White and therefore privileged. It’s a thoroughly fascinating talk that can complicate discussions about class and race in American education and politics.