True Math: Interactive science communication for exploring the “true nature” of mathematics
Why can’t you divide by 0, and why is the theorem of Pythagoras valid? As part of the funded project “True Math!”, a participatory online series of events was staged at which interested people of all ages explored mathematical issues under the guidance of Prof. Christian Spannagel from PH Heidelberg. The aim was to give participants “eureka” experiences. Even through certain rules are familiar from school days, they often cannot be explained – because the true nature of mathematics was not conveyed at that time.
This is exactly the pivotal point of the format: In six two-hour online sessions held between October 2024 and February 2025, well-known mathematical rules and facts were put into question, and explanations were devised together. The topics included divisibility rules, prime numbers, fractions and percentages, binomial formulas, and probability. By jointly arriving at the solutions in direct interaction, participants experienced how mathematicians work and why – above and beyond mathematics – it is so important in everyday life to question things critically and not to be satisfied with mere assertions.
An average of 336 people participated in the six “True Math!” livestreams on Twitch; the first stream attained the highest reach with 553 participants. A total of 306 people subscribed to the accompanying newsletter. According to surveys, about 58 percent of the participants were male, 40 percent female, and two percent diverse. The largest age group was 20-29 years (31%), followed by 50-59 (25%) and 40-49 years (22%). Around 63 percent of the participants were working and 23 percent in school or studying.
The “True Math!” Discord community developed dynamically: Between October 2024 and March 2025, its membership grew from 677 to 1,548 users. The community provided a lively space for exchange between the streams and for joint discussion of the mathematical topics. Dissemination of the content via social media was also successful: The recordings of the streams were published both as full-length videos on YouTube and as shorts on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. The 100 videos published across all platforms were viewed about 2.5 million times in all.
The streams currently have the character of classroom discussions, but partner and group work will also be possible in future. The “True Math!” project sees itself as the beginning of a transfer and research program for interactive formats of science communication in mathematics.
