Learn · Gresham College

Lecture series6 lectures

The Geometry of Nature and the Shape of Things

Professor Alain Goriely FRS · Gresham College

Start with lecture 1 At Gresham College

About

The reflection of my right hand in a mirror is a left hand that looks similar yet is very different from the right. Many natural structures such as proteins, climbing vines, and seashells exhibit the same property known as chirality. Some of these objects are clearly left-handed, some are right-handed, some are both. The ultimate origin of chirality is one of Nature's great mysteries. This lecture discusses the general problem of determining the chirality of an object and how it impacts all branches of sciences.

Lectures

  1. The Shape of Hands: Symmetry, Chirality and Handedness 2025-09-16 · Audio
  2. The Shape of Plants: Why Plants Love Mathematics and Mathematicians Love Plants 2025-11-11 · YouTube
  3. The Shape of Shells: She Sells Self-Similar Spiral Seashells on the Seashore 2026-02-13 · Audio
  4. The Shape of Gravity: Why On Earth Are Planets Spherical? 2026-03-03 · Audio
  5. The Shape of Tiles: Regular and Irregular, Hard and Soft 2026-04-28 · Audio
  6. The Shape of Knots: From DNA to Shoestrings and Solar Flares 2026-06-09 · YouTube

Credits and licence

Institution
Gresham College
Speaker
Professor Alain Goriely FRS
Year
2025
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Medicine and health, Earth and environment, Astronomy and space
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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