Interview with Olga Paris-Romaskevich

Olga Paris-Romaskevich is a CNRS researcher at Marseille Institute of Mathematics, working in dynamical systems. In this interview Olga talks about the joy of popularizing mathematics and shares a truly inspiring story of how she (almost) quit math! Olga's webpage: https://romaskevich.carrd.co​ https://marielhuissier.carrd.co​ (Marie Lhuissier, mathematical storyteller) https://www.mathematiquesvagabondes.fr​ (French association Mathématiques Vagabondes created by Olga Paris-Romaskevich and Marie Lhuissier, to foster exchange between arts and mathematics) https://matematika.mathematiquesvagab...​ (site of the MАТЕМАТИКА project — exchanging with women in mathematics in Russia) http://ciel.mmi-lyon.fr/​ Exhibition Mathematics of the sky 0:00​ teaser 00:30​ unexpected interview outcome 01:16​ when math research became a choice 04:45​ why you choose math 8:44​ what being a mathematician means 10:43​ how math changed you 12:50​ which skills math research gives you 17:16​ desired changes in the math community 21:21​ what’s included in “inclusivity” 25:48​ young mathematicians feeling included 28:14​ math as an instrument in life 32:28​ why popularize math 36:15​ traveling through Russia to collect math stories 38:28​ how Olya inspired me to start “Math-life balance” 39:19​ the importance of dreaming 40:10​ how Olya quit academia (not clickbait:) ) 44:28​ what happens when you decide to stop doing math 47:30​ don’t change how you are, change the world around 49:57​ not working when you don’t have motivation 51:38​ how to learn a TED talk 53:24​ cool metaphor of math research 56:12​ advice to those who feel lost these days