Reaching for the Extrem
In this conversation, Ian Stewart discusses the nature of mathematical inquiry, the motivations behind problem-solving in mathematics, and the importance of storytelling in making math relatable. He explores the relationship between nature and mathematics, emphasizing how patterns in nature inspire mathematical concepts. Stewart also addresses the role of AI in mathematical discovery and the importance of choosing meaningful problems to work on. He concludes by highlighting the vital role of mathematics in society and its significant contributions to the economy.
About the Guest
Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart FRS is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of
Warwick and a leading popularizer of mathematics. He is author or coauthor of
over 200 research papers on pattern formation, chaos, network dynamics, and
biomathematics. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society since 2001, and has
served on Council, its governing body. He has five honorary doctorates.
He has published more than 120 books including Why Beauty is Truth, Professor
Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities, Calculating the Cosmos,
Significant Figures, and the four-volume series The Science of Discworld with
Terry Pratchett and Jack Cohen. He has also written the science fiction novels
Wheelers and Heaven with Jack Cohen, and The Living Labyrinth and Rock Star with
Tim Poston.
He wrote the Mathematical Recreations column for Scientific American from 1990
to 2001. He has made 90 television appearances and 450 radio broadcasts, most of
them about mathematics for the general public, and has delivered hundreds of
public lectures on mathematics.
His awards include the Royal Society’s Faraday Medal, the Gold Medal of the
Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications, the Zeeman Medal (IMA and London
Mathematical Society), the Lewis Thomas Prize (Rockefeller University), and the
Euler Book Prize (Mathematical Association of America).
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