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Factual: Science & Nature

Programme exploring new ideas in science and meeting the researchers responsible

Programme exploring new ideas in science and meeting the scientists and researchers responsible for them, as well as hearing from their critics

Frontiers: Can Maths Combat Terrorism?

Can Maths Combat Terrorism?

17/12/2014

BBC Radio 4 - Frontiers, Can Maths Combat Terrorism?

Can maths reveal hidden patterns in global terrorism? Dr Hannah Fry investigates.

Can maths reveal hidden patterns in terrorist activity? Dr Hannah Fry asks whether mathematical modelling could help us fight terrorism.

Dr Hannah Fry investigates the hidden patterns behind terrorism and asks whether mathematics could be used to predict the next 9/11.

When computer scientists decided to study the severity and frequency of 30,000 terrorist attacks worldwide, they found an distinctive pattern hiding in the data.

Even though the events spanned 5,000 cities in 187 countries over 40 years, every single attack fitted neatly onto a curve, described by an equation known as a 'power law'.

Now this pattern is helping mathematicians and social scientists understand the mechanisms underlying global terrorism.

Could these modelling techniques be used to predict if, and when, another attack the size of 9/11 will occur?

Producer: Michelle Martin.

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