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Talk

The importance of being peripheral

Professor John D Barrow FRS · Gresham College

Watch At Gresham College

About

The maths of surfaces and boundaries. Queen Dido's problem. The importance of shape. Examples from the natural world where it pays to minimise your surface and others where it pays to maximise it. Animal behaviour: the shapes and huddles of herds. Tactics of Atlantic convoys. Shoals of fish and swarms of midges. Advantages of of sticking together or branching out. Fractals: Nature's answer to the problem of being as superficial as possible.

The talk

  1. The importance of being peripheral 2008-11-25 · YouTube

Credits and licence

Institution
Gresham College
Speaker
Professor John D Barrow FRS
Year
2008
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Mathematics
Source
Gresham College
Licence
Educational use (Gresham College's terms), as Gresham College states it. Gresham College's terms
Attribution
Gresham College states: "We positively encourage the use of the Gresham College lecture transcripts, audio and video files for educational purposes. However, we do not allow use of Gresham College materials for commercial, personal or institutional gain."
Who can watch
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