What
We are living in the most mathematical age of all time, because of computers.
The massive computational power at our disposal has
driven innovation in all aspects of modern society such as science,
medicine, and social development. Mobile phones, internet, GPS, online
shopping, banking are commonplace examples, but there’s also medical
imaging, data mining, even non-skid braking on vehicles – the impact of
computing is extraordinary.
A main contributor to the evolution of computing
power is a branch of mathematics called Logic. But what is Logic and how
does this type of reasoning contribute to advancing technology?
Rod Downey, Professor of Mathematics and 2018
Rutherford Medal winner, chronicles the story of Logic, beginning with
the ancient Greeks, then onwards to some of the deepest and most
important issues of modern mathematics and computing – what can we
compute and what can’t we compute and why? For instance, ‘NP-complete
problems’ can be solved in theory, but are deemed intractable because we
actually think solving them would take longer than the life of the
universe. On the other hand, there is no (mathematical) proof of this
belief – yet. As one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems
set by the Clay Mathematics Institute, finding a proof, could earn you
$US one million dollars. Rod has developed an approach that shows this
intractability can be sidestepped in many practical problems. Does this
have an effect on society? How close are we to understanding
intractability in practice?
When and Where
6pm – 7pm
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Centennial Theatre
Auckland Grammar School
55 Mountain View Round
Auckland Central
How Much
Free but register to guarantee seat
More
Information and Registration
