The television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire regularly attracts a huge audience. Can a mathematical game show hold its own against such competition–especially without lifelines, dramatic lighting effects, precarious chairs for contestants, and Regis Philbin as host? Probably not, but it can still be great fun.
More than 200 mathematicians and students showed up on a Thursday evening to participate in The Number Years, a featured event at the Joint Mathematics Meetings held earlier this month in Washington, D.C. It was organized by Jennifer J. Quinn of Occidental College in Los Angeles, who also served as emcee, along with Eric J. Libicki of the University of Southern California and Arthur T. Benjamin of Harvey Mudd College.