The second in the Conversations Across the Creek series was a lively discussion of the abstract beauty of mathematics, the crisis of too much data, the possibilities of a universal language, and the potentials of machine learning within the constraints of making something which doesn't not work. Also mentioned: hammers, certainty, ethics, and Proust.

This session’s speakers were: Professor Anna Wierzbicka (Linguistics, School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics), Dr Glenn Roe (Digital Humanities, Centre for Digital Humanities Research), Professor Bob Williamson (Machine Learning, Research School of Computer Science), and Dr Vanessa Robins (Computational Topology, Research School of Physics & Engineering). Hosted by Director of the Humanities Research Centre Professor Will Christie.

The Conversations Across the Creek series is an initiative of the Humanities Research Centre and the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science. ‘Conversations’ seeks to highlight the commonalities and interesting intersections that exist across the university through TED-style talks delivered by academics from both sides of Sullivan’s Creek.