Tim Harford, Financial Times columnist and presenter of Radio 4's "More or Less", argues that politicians, businesses and even charities have been poisoning the value of statistics and data. From the tobacco companies in the fifties to the arguments of the Brexit campaign, Tim Harford takes us on a tour of truths, facts and the weapon that is doubt. Surely fact-checking websites and rational thinking are the best weapons to convince people of the truth? Or is in fact the truth simply not good enough. Do we have time or any inclination to hear it? Maybe we need to start with something simpler. Perhaps arousing people's curiosity might be just as important.

Watch Tim make his case in the latest of the successful Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture series.

Statistics: Why the Truth Matters - Tim Harford

A series of talks and lectures from Oxford Mathematicians exploring the power and beauty of their subject. These talks would appeal to anyone interested in mathematics and its ever-growing range of applications from medicine to economics and beyond.

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This lecture is a visual treat as Ingrid Daubechies celebrates the joy, creativity and beauty of mathematics. Inspired by textile artist Dominique Ehrmann, Ingrid, with Dominique, conceived the idea of a large mathematical installation that incorporated a myriad of mathematical ideas in an entertaining and visually stimulating way. Aided by the whimsy and imagination of 24 colleagues from across the mathematical universe, the Installation is taking shape - all kinds of shape. So who is Arnold and why is he baking Mandelbrot cookies? 

Multi-award winning Ingrid Daubechies is James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

Mathemalchemy: a mathematical and artistic adventure

From the creative ensemble behind Complicité’s sensational A Disappearing Number, this two-hander unfolds to reveal an intriguing take on mortality, consciousness and artificial life. Alone in a cube that glows in the darkness, X is content with its infinite universe and abstract thought. But then Y appears, insisting they interact, exposing X to Y's sensory and physical existence. Each begins to hanker after what the other has until a remarkable thing happens … involving a strange loop. 

After the screening, Marcus and Victoria are joined by Simon McBurney, founder of Complicité, to discuss the play and mathematics and theatre.

An Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture in partnership with Faber Members.The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

I is a Strange Loop - written and performed by Marcus du Sautoy and Victoria Gould

Oxford University's Sedleian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is 400 years old in 2021. The title implies a wide range of study. Current holder Jon Keating does just that in this Public Lecture via the Olympics, machine learning & the Riemann zeta-function, the mathematical object that encodes the mysterious distribution of the prime numbers.

Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture. Jon Keating: From one extreme to another: the statistics of extreme events

We are on board the Oxford Mathematics Space Probe for this Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture as we explore Black Holes with a Nobel Laureate, a Professor of the History and Philosophy of Physics & a broadcasting legend. EvenAlbert Einstein thought Black Holes impossible. Then in 1965 Roger Penrose provided the Mathematical tools for Physicists to go and find them. A compelling story of 20th Century Science.
Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture in partnership with Wadham College.

Spacetime Singularities - Roger Penrose, Dennis Lehmkuhl and Melvyn Bragg

Science and maths are full of smart tools for explaining the world around us. Those tools can feel far removed from the way the rest of us understand that world. Can we reconcile the two approaches? Oxford Mathematician Anna Seigal provides some answers. The Oxford Mathematics Public Lectures are generously supported by XTX Markets.

Statistics: Why the Truth Matters - Tim Harford

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