The 2016 CHRISTMAS LECTURE: Patterns and Predictions
Liverpool

19 December 2016

Branch: Liverpool

Title:  The 2016 CHRISTMAS LECTURE: Patterns and Predictions

Presenter: Colin Wright

Date: Monday, 19 Dec, 2016 

Time: 14:00-15:00

Summary:  This talk starts with some seductively obvious patterns that seem successfully to predict the future, but then goes on to show that not all patterns are trustworthy.

We start with simple arithmetic sequences, and talk briefly about why we claim a sequence "should" continue in a particular way. Then we look at a specific problem and look at the sequence it generates, only to discover that it's not the sequence we expect.

In an apparent shift of topic we then look at Morse Code, and look for patterns in how it's designed, and some implications. Oddly enough, both the doubling sequence (1, 2, 4, 8, 16,…) and the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ...) arise naturally.

We finish by going meta, and using a pattern of patterns to predict the existence of Juggling Patterns.

Venue:  Lecture Theatre B, Central Teaching Hub, University of Liverpool

Venue Address:  tbc L69 7BX

Audience:  Suitable for Year 11 up and their teachers.

Branch Contact name/email:  Please email any enquiries to Peter Giblin

No Door Charge: The LMS Christmas Lecture is free to everyone.  TICKETS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS LECTURE: BOOK AT http://tinyurl.com/LivMSxmas2016/