Episodes

10 items

Cover image for Roger Penrose: Mathematics & What Exists

Roger Penrose—mathematician, physicist, philosopher—was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. We speak with Roger about our favorite, fundamental questions. What...

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Roger Penrose: Mathematics & What Exists

Episode 10

Season 22

26:52

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Cover image for Can Mathematics Elucidate Evolution?

If life is a vast space of possibilities, then mathematics can engage with biology. Statistics analyze biological data, and mathematical models improve biological theories...

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Can Mathematics Elucidate Evolution?

Episode 9

Season 22

26:52

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Cover image for Can Mathematics Explain Biology?

If life is a vast space of possibilities, then mathematics can engage with biology. Statistics analyze biological data, and mathematical models improve biological theories...

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Can Mathematics Explain Biology?

Episode 8

Season 22

26:50

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Cover image for Why do Power Laws Work so Widely?

“Power laws” are mathematical relationships expressed by exponents or logarithms—why are they so powerful in describing the world? Why are power laws found in diverse...

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Why do Power Laws Work so Widely?

Episode 7

Season 22

26:50

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Cover image for What is the Deep Meaning of Probability?

Consider three powers of probability: refining data, assessing theories, probing ultimate reality. Watch how these work in cosmology: confidence in precise measurements;...

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What is the Deep Meaning of Probability?

Episode 6

Season 22

26:50

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Cover image for What are Breakthroughs in Mathematics?

Call mathematics the purest form of knowledge, universal messaging anyone, anywhere, can understand. For math to advance, there must be breakthroughs, which may seem like...

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What are Breakthroughs in Mathematics?

Episode 5

Season 22

26:52

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Cover image for What Does the “Unreasonable Effectiveness” of Mathematics Mean?

The astonishing effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences, especially in physics, borders on the mysterious—and there seems no rational explanation. Our...

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What Does the “Unreasonable Effectiveness” of Mathematics Mean?

Episode 4

Season 22

26:52

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Cover image for Why is Mathematics True & Beautiful?

Does mathematics have two transcendent attributes: truth and beauty? What makes math true? What makes math beautiful? Are there different kinds of mathematical existence? How...

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Why is Mathematics True & Beautiful?

Episode 1

Season 22

26:52

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Cover image for Freeman Dyson, Part II: Mind, God, Religion

Freeman Dyson, visionary extraordinaire and creatively disruptive: realities inaccessible to science, independent mental, mind in the cosmos, science and theology, even...

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Freeman Dyson, Part II: Mind, God, Religion

Episode 02

Season 21

26:47

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What are Breakthroughs in Physics?

Episode 1

26:47

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Topic Series

16 items

Cover image for What are Breakthroughs in Mathematics? (Part 1)

What is the nature of mathematical breakthroughs? What are common characteristics among diverse mathematical fields? What are specific signs of mathematical breakthroughs?...

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What are Breakthroughs in Mathematics? (Part 1)

Topic Series

6 videos

44:00

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Cover image for What are Breakthroughs in Mathematics? (Part 2)

What is the nature of mathematical breakthroughs? What are common characteristics among diverse mathematical fields? What are specific signs of mathematical breakthroughs?...

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What are Breakthroughs in Mathematics? (Part 2)

Topic Series

7 videos

57:49

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Cover image for How is Mathematics Truth and Beauty? (Part 1)

Why do mathematicians talk about “truth” and “beauty” in their creative work? How to define “truth” and “beauty” in a mathematical context? How do these...

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How is Mathematics Truth and Beauty? (Part 1)

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6 videos

54:26

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Cover image for How is Mathematics Truth and Beauty? (Part 2)

Why do mathematicians talk about “truth” and “beauty” in their creative work? How to define “truth” and “beauty” in a mathematical context? How do these...

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How is Mathematics Truth and Beauty? (Part 2)

Topic Series

44:01

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Cover image for How is Mathematics Truth and Beauty? (Part 3)

Why do mathematicians talk about “truth” and “beauty” in their creative work? How to define “truth” and “beauty” in a mathematical context? How do these...

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How is Mathematics Truth and Beauty? (Part 3)

Topic Series

4 videos

28:24

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Cover image for Why the ‘Unreasonable Effectiveness’ of Mathematics? (Part 1)

In 1960, the physicist Eugene Wigner published an article, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences,” which has attracted great...

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Why the ‘Unreasonable Effectiveness’ of Mathematics? (Part 1)

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6 videos

54:51

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Cover image for Why the ‘Unreasonable Effectiveness’ of Mathematics? (Part 2)

In 1960, the physicist Eugene Wigner published an article, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences,” which has attracted great...

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Why the ‘Unreasonable Effectiveness’ of Mathematics? (Part 2)

Topic Series

5 videos

44:29

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Cover image for Why the ‘Unreasonable Effectiveness’ of Mathematics? (Part 3)

In 1960, the physicist Eugene Wigner published an article, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences,” which has attracted great...

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Why the ‘Unreasonable Effectiveness’ of Mathematics? (Part 3)

Topic Series

6 videos

44:57

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Cover image for What's the Deep Meaning of Probability? (Part 1)

Is probability a deep probe of how the world works at fundamental levels? Or is probability merely a tool of human perception in trying to discern what is true and what is...

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What's the Deep Meaning of Probability? (Part 1)

Topic Series

6 videos

49:38

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Cover image for What's the Deep Meaning of Probability? (Part 2)

Is probability a deep probe of how the world works at fundamental levels? Or is probability merely a tool of human perception in trying to discern what is true and what is...

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What's the Deep Meaning of Probability? (Part 2)

Topic Series

6 videos

37:41

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Cover image for What’s the Deep Meaning of Probability? (Part 3)

Is probability a deep probe of how the world works at fundamental levels? Or is probability merely a tool of human perception in trying to discern what is true and what is...

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What’s the Deep Meaning of Probability? (Part 3)

Topic Series

6 videos

46:21

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Cover image for Why Do Power Laws Work so Widely? (Part 1)

Power laws relate diverse quantities in a defined numerical way, such that a change in one is associated with a change in the other according to specific formulas or...

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Why Do Power Laws Work so Widely? (Part 1)

Topic Series

5 videos

46:03

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Cover image for Why Do Power Laws Work so Widely? (Part 2)

Power laws relate diverse quantities in a defined numerical way, such that a change in one is associated with a change in the other according to specific formulas or...

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Why Do Power Laws Work so Widely? (Part 2)

Topic Series

6 videos

54:55

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Cover image for Can Mathematics Explain Biology? (Part I)

What are the applications of mathematics to biology? What are the categories? For example: statistical analysis (e.g., drug effectiveness), pattern recognition (e.g., DNA...

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Can Mathematics Explain Biology? (Part I)

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5 videos

50:56

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Cover image for Can Mathematics Explain Biology? (Part II)

What are the applications of mathematics to biology? What are the categories? For example: statistical analysis (e.g., drug effectiveness), pattern recognition (e.g., DNA...

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Can Mathematics Explain Biology? (Part II)

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6 videos

55:12

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What are applications of mathematics to research in evolution? What are categories or examples where mathematics generates deep insights? For example: population genetics,...

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