logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2020
33m 45s

What is infinity?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Is there something bigger than infinity? Does quantum mechanics affect how I think? And why can I suddenly do algebra? As ever, we’re not afraid to tackle the big questions on CrowdScience. After a previous episode about the relationship between mathematics and reality, we received a flood of profound and difficult questions, so we dive back into the world of maths, physics and philosophy to try and answer them. A panel of experts help us puzzle out whether some infinities are bigger than others - and why that matters, as well as what quantum mechanics can teach us about the workings of the brain. And we seek answers for one of our listeners who surprised himself by being able to figure out mathematics equations he previously found unfathomable. With philosopher of physics Dr Eleanor Knox, mathematician Dr Katie Steckles, and Dr Aldo Faisal, an expert in neurotechnology.

Presented by Marnie Chesterton Produced by Cathy Edwards for the BBC World Service

Photo:

Up next
Nov 21
Why do we cry?
<p>Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of frustration or tears of pain - humans are thought to be the only animals that cry tears of emotion. CrowdScience listener Lizzy wants to know: why do we cry for emotional reasons? What is its evolutionary benefit? And why do some people ... Show More
30 m
Nov 14
Do tsunamis affect marine life?
<p>Tsunamis destroy buildings, habitats and danger to everything in its path on land. But how do they affect life under the water? That's what CrowdScience listener Alvyn wants to know, and presenter Anand Jagatia is searching beneath the waves for answers. Anand meets Professor ... Show More
26m 54s
Nov 7
Are near-death experiences real?
In your final moments, they say, you may walk down a tunnel of light. You might rise above your body, watching the scene below before passing into another world. Perhaps you’ll be met by glowing figures, see your life flash before your eyes, or feel a deep, unearthly calm. These ... Show More
26m 26s
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
The impossible number
There is a bizarre number in maths referred to simply as ‘i’. It appears to break the rules of arithmetic - but turns out to be utterly essential for applications across engineering and physics. We are talking about the square root of -1, which makes no sense.Professor Fry waxes ... Show More
27m 59s
Feb 2023
The Impossible Number
There is a bizarre number in maths referred to simply as ‘i’. It appears to break the rules of arithmetic - but turns out to be utterly essential for applications across engineering and physics. We’re talking about the square root of -1. WHICH MAKES NO SENSE.Professor Fry waxes l ... Show More
41m 48s
Sep 2010
The Mathematicians Who Helped Einstein
This ten part history of mathematics from Newton to the present day, reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role ... Show More
13m 52s
Nov 2020
The end of everything
Everyone knows about the Big Bang being the beginning of the universe and time - but when and how is it going to end? ask brothers Raffie and Xe from Rome. For this series, with lockdown learning in mind, Drs Rutherford and Fry are investigating scientific mysteries for students ... Show More
27m 19s
May 2011
Is math a human invention or a human discovery?
<p>In this episode, Robert and Julie take a sweeping look at math, addressing several important questions. For example: What is math? Where does math come from? What mathematical skills are we born with and how much can we understand?</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices ... Show More
37m 58s
Dec 2019
The Universe Speaks in Numbers: Karen Uhlenbeck interviewed by Graham Farmelo
The interplay between fundamental physics and pure mathematics has led to many remarkable mathematical insights over the past fifty years. Karen Uhlenbeck is one of the mathematicians who made pioneering insights into geometry when studying the physicists' gauge theory of particl ... Show More
15m 13s
Jan 2018
Eugenia Cheng on the mathematics of mathematics
Nothing annoys Eugenia Cheng more than the suggestion that there is no creativity in mathematics. Doing mathematics is not about being a human calculator, she says. She doesn't spend her time multiplying big numbers in her head. She sits in hotel bars drawing (mainly arrows) with ... Show More
27m 36s
Aug 2022
What Is Quantum Field Theory and Why Is It Incomplete?
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">Quantum field theory may be the most successful scientific theory of all time, predicting  experimental results with stunning accuracy and advancing the study of higher dimensional mathematics. Yet, there’s also reason to believe that it is missi ... Show More
42m 4s
Dec 2020
Anna Weltman, "Supermath: The Power of Numbers for Good and Evil" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2020)
Mathematics as a subject is distinctive in its symbolic abstraction and its potential for logical and computational rigor. But mathematicians tend to impute other qualities to our subject that set it apart, such as impartiality, universality, and elegance. Far from incidental, th ... Show More
1h 47m
Jun 2022
Can Computers Be Mathematicians?
<p><span style="font-weight: 400">How do you teach mathematics to an artificial intelligence? AI has already bested humans at various problem-solving tasks, including games like chess and Go. But before any task can be tackled by a machine, it must be reinterpreted as  directions ... Show More
32m 50s