Knot theory is a burgeoning branch of mathematics which has numerous applications to modern topological and geometric problems. In this class, I will define a mathematical knot, draw numerous examples of knots, define what makes a knot the "same" as another knot, and introduce some ways of distinguishing knots from others. This is intended to be a rudimentary introduction to an incredibly rich branch of modern mathematics.

We will try to derive a simple model of the Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides (DMP) model for the labor market with search frictions. This model won its authors the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics.