Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What does one do at the Mathematics Village?

Answer: At the Mathematics Village one can do mathematics of any sort and at any level. Let us give some examples from our 2007 summer school which lasted 1,5 months. Some of us stayed in the houses and some in tents. We got up at 7:00 in the morning. Classes were from 7:00 to 11:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00. Not everyone came to every class, they were chosen according to one’s level and area of interest. Besides professional mathematicians, students also gave lectures, some students gave one or two seminars on certain subjects. In the evenings the students studied by themselves or in groups. We declared a day of vacation on Wednesdays and went to the beach. The students organized themselves into groups of three and these groups took turns performing chores such as cleaning, dishwashing, kitchen duty, construction and watering. In the village, researchers who want to bury themselves in research can talk to nobody all day long if they choose to do so.

Question: How can I use the Mathematics Village?

Answer: There are two ways. 1) You may want to organize an activity. For example, you may want to teach mathematics to children in the 13-15 year age group, or to adults. If you are a maths teacher, you may want to be left on your own with your class for a week. If you are a researcher you may want to bury yourself in your work by yourself or with a friend, food and bed provided. You may want to organize small meetings, seminars, or workshops (no more than 30-40 people). Click here for the activity organization form. 2) You may want to participate in one of the Village activities. To see a list of these activities, click here.

Question: What does the Mathematics Village propose?

Answer: Besides three delicious meals a day and a bed to sleep in, nature, peace and an ideal atmosphere for working. We have a closed classroom and an amphitheatre for lectures. Small bowers are now being built for small study groups. We hope to have the pool finished by 2009. Television, radio and diffusion of loud music are nonexistent. We try to avoid any activity in the Village which may keep one from concentrating. We have rooms for two as well as dormitory-type rooms for 4, 6, 8 or 10 people. The Village houses are almost all made of rock, mud and straw. VIP’s may also take advantage of the more comfortable numerous pensions the nearby Şirince village has to offer.

Question: Why can’t people who haven’t subscribed to the magazine Matematik Dünyası come to the Mathematics Village as students?

Answer: The magazine Matematik Dünyası (MD) is a serious magazine of popular mathematics (http://www.matematikdunyasi.org). This magazine is prepared mostly for students in high school and university, and with great care and sacrifice. Subscribing to MD is the greatest sign that one takes mathematics seriously. The subscription costs 16 New Turkish Lira per annum. Go to http://www.matematikdunyasi.org/abonelik/ to subscribe.

 Question: How much does staying at the Mathematics Village cost?

Answer: When we divide the Village’s yearly expenses by the total number of nights stayed for all guests, the costs comes up to 50 to 60 YTL per person per day! We would be ashamed to ask students to pay this amount. With help from various organizations, we are able to offer lodging and meals for between 10 and 30 YTL. This price includes three daily meals and a bed. From students who stay in tents, we will ask between 5 and 20 YTL for meals. We will provide any kind of help and facilities to researchers who don’t have any institutional support. I must clarify here that the Village is a strictly non-profit organization. If any profit is made by mistake, it will be returned to society.

Question: What is expected from the participants?

Answer: We ask of participants that they refrain from disrupting the peace, from discordant behavior, from disturbing others (especially those doing mathematics), that they adapt to a free environment, and that they take care of the Village. The limit of one’s freedom in the Mathematics Village is the disturbance of others and the national laws. Students are expected to push beyond their capacity to study mathematics. Furthermore, youngsters staying at the Mathematics Village dedicate a small part of their days to activities profitable to the Village, for example: watering the trees and flowers, environmental cleaning, washing dishes, laundry, peeling potatoes, construction and repairs. Of course, no one is asked to give more than their physical capacity. This work, as well as taking up very little time, causes students to have a greater appetite for studying, for obvious reasons.

Question: Does the Mathematics Village aim to make profit?

Answer: The Mathematics Village is a not-for-profit organization. The Mathematics Village was built for the profit of society and science and only for this purpose. Furthermore, the Mathematics Village is property of the Nesin Foundation. Any profit which is made will come back to society either through mathematics or through the Nesin Foundation. 

Question: Can I make a donation to the mathematics Village?

Answer: The Mathematics Village is property of the Nesin Foundation and you can make donations to the Nesin Foundation specifying that the donation is to be used for the Village. There is a bank account for this purpose:

İş Bank, Parmakkapı Subsidiary (?): 1042 0687054 

Vakıfbank Çatalca Subsidiary: 237 158007272068355

Donations via the web: www.nesinvakfi.org/mk_bagis.html

The donations will be transferred to the Mathematics Village. 200,000 YTL are needed for completion of its construction (June 2008). The names of those who have donated 1000 YTL and above are engraved on a slab of marble at the entrance of the Village. Next year we will add new names to this plate. We will dedicate a stone house to those who donate 50,000 YTL. We thank you for your donations in the name of the young who will profit by it and in the name of mathematics.

A list of the people who have donated to the Village until now can be found at: http://www.nesinvakfi.org/nmk_bagiscilari.html .