Can We Trust Maths? - with Kit Yates

Mathematics is everywhere, in all of our lives. Whether it’s used for medicine, in the media or in the world of politics, we can’t escape it - but can we always trust how it's used?
Kit’s book "The Maths of Life and Death" is available now - https://geni.us/jWrj7u8

Watch the Q&A:    • Q&A: The Maths of Life and Death - wi...  

Whether it’s helping to determine our likelihood of having an illness or trying to predict crime rates around the world, maths has an inextricable relationship with the modern world.

Kit Yates explains the impact mathematics can have on real people’s lives, even when they don’t realise it. From mathematical miscarriages of justice, to the potentially scarring effects of medical false positives, to the power of ‘fake news’ and the surprising likelihood of coincidences, maths' impact on our lives cannot be understated.

Kit Yates is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and co-director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath. He completed his PhD in Mathematics at the University of Oxford in 2011.

This talk was filmed in the Ri on 21 January 2020.

---

A very special thank you to our Patreon supporters who help make these videos happen, especially:
Alan Latteri, Andrew McGhee, Anonymous, Dave Ostler, David Crowner, David Lindo, David Schick, Greg Nagel, Jan Bannister, Joe Godenzi, John C. Vesey, Kellas Lowery, L S, Lasse T. Stendan, Matt Townsend, Osian Gwyn Williams, Paul Brown, Rebecca Pan, Robert Hillier, Robert Reinecke, and Roger Baker.

---

The Ri is on Patreon:   / theroyalinstitution  
and Twitter:   / ri_science  
and Facebook:   / royalinstitution  
and Tumblr:   / ri-science  
Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-po...
Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe

Product links on this page are affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.