Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science Marcus Du Sautoy will deliver his Inaugural Lecture on Wednesday 25 November, at 5.30 p.m. A reception will follow the lecture.
Venue: Examination Schools
75-81 High Street, Oxford, OX1 4BG
Lecture commences at 5.30 p.m.
Doors open 4.30pm
5.30-6.30pm: lecture
6.30-7.30pm: reception
NB: This event is free, but tickets are required. Please register your attendance and print out a free ticket at http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/inauguralsimonyi. You will need to specify the number of people on your party, and print out a free ticket for each of them. No one will be admitted to the lecture without a ticket.
Galileo once wrote: "The universe cannot be read until we have learnt the language in which it is written. It is written in mathematical language and the letters are triangles, circles and other geometric figures without which means it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word." Mathematics is the key to many of the greatest scientific and technological advances made throughout the ages. For artists too, mathematics underpins many steps in the creative process. From the tiles in the Alhambra to Bach's Goldberg Variations, there are mathematical structures hiding behind these great works of art. In this lecture, I shall explore the power of this mathematical language to help navigate Nature's dark labyrinth and to take us into new worlds we could hardly hope to conceive of.