"Math/pow" is actually a function on JVM level. Clojure functions are objects with special callable method. This will work: (map (partial #(Math/pow %1 %2) 2)

"Math/pow" is actually a function on JVM level. Clojure functions are objects with special callable method. This will work: (map (partial #(Math/pow %1 %2) 2) [0 1 2 3])