Unexpected Elements Some Beautiful Science
Nov 21, 2025
In this fascinating discussion, Marcus du Sautoy, an Oxford professor of mathematics, highlights the stunning beauty of math and its creative aspects, arguing for a more artistic approach to teaching the subject. Meanwhile, Fig O’Reilly, Miss Universe Ireland 2019 and NASA data analyst, shares her unique journey of balancing pageantry with science communication. The conversation also touches on the genetic versus cultural influences on beauty, the intriguing 'audience effect' on performance, and the surprising world of civet coffee and death metal singing.
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Beauty Is Mostly Learned
- A large twin study found identical twins did not agree on attractiveness more than fraternal twins.
- This suggests cultural and personal experience shape beauty more than genetics.
Audience Boosts Hard Tasks, Hinders Easy Ones
- The audience effect can either boost or impair performance depending on task difficulty.
- Chimps performed better on hard touchscreen tasks as audience size grew, but worse on easy tasks.
Beauty Guides Mathematical Discovery
- Marcus du Sautoy links mathematical beauty to truth and storytelling in equations.
- He argues mathematicians select and elevate creative, surprising results that reshape understanding.