[Podcast] Mathematics into pictures, 30 years on (Alan Davies)

Professor Alan Davies celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Maths Masterclasses at the Royal Institution. Broadcast on 6 January 1979, Professor Christopher Zeeman presented the sixth and final Christmas lecture in the series entitled Maths into pictures. The lectures were a phenomenal success and led to the development of a series of masterclasses for young people taking place at the Ri. Professor John Crank chaired the development committee and the first series was planned and went ahead in January 1981 with lectures given by Christopher Zeeman, John Crank and Dr Shaun Wylie. It could not have been known to those three just what they had started; new groups formed outside the Ri and the number of series has steadily increased across the country to about sixty secondary and forty primary groups in 2010. Only available as podcast. So, what is the secret of the success, how have masterclasses developed over the years and what has been their impact? Alan Davies will address these and other questions during this Friday Evening Discourse. In particular, in the spirit of the masterclasses, he will take a variety of topics presented by different lecturers and illustrate how some quite advanced mathematical ideas can be presented to a young audience.