Eugene, Sarah and Emily join us to talk about their love of maths. Eugene says he doesn't feel the need to make everything into a single hierarchy. For me, for you, that thing is best. I think it's for you. And in maths, we often say, well, here's a sense in which- this is a really interesting point of view. But actually, if we're trying to understand, it's like the map of the tube. It's not geographically accurate, but it's really helpful to help us get around. That's why I'd spot things in the wild that were mathematical, but also in a piece of music. You see there's
Kirsty Wark celebrates the artistry of numbers with three mathematicians Eugenia Cheng, Sarah Hart and Emily Howard.
Eugenia Cheng asks Is Maths Real? in her new book, which offers a new way to look at the subject by focusing on the questions, rather than the answers. She explores how asking the simplest of questions – ‘why does 1 + 1 = 2?’ – can get to the very heart of the search for mathematical truth.
Sarah Hart wants to break down the perceived barriers between mathematics and the creative arts. In Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature she reveals the geometry lurking in Moby-Dick, George Eliot’s obsession with statistics, and Jurassic Park’s fractal patterns.
Emily Howard has a dual passion for maths and music. In her compositions she plays with mathematical shapes and processes. Her new record Torus, released on NMC Recordings in April, brings together works including sphere and Compass.
Producer: Katy Hickman