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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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The Essay Podcast

The Essay

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.

The Essay: The Secret Mathematician

The Essay: The Secret Mathematician: Episode 5: Secret Artist

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The Secret Mathematician

Episode 5

Episode 5: Secret Artist

Secret Artist

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Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy argues that maths is more of an art than a science.

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy argues that maths is really a form of art: the creativity of it is more important than its usefulness.

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy untangles the fascinating maths hidden beneath the surface of some of our great contemporary and historical works of art. In this edition, Marcus relates his own route into maths and his realisation that maths is really a form of art: the creativity of maths is more important than its usefulness. 

One of the first maths books that Marcus remembers reading, aged 12, was A Mathematician's Apology by GH Hardy. In it, Hardy argues that "It is not possible to justify the life of any genuine professional mathematician on the ground of the utility of his work." On the contrary, "Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics."

Marcus will talk about his life as a mathematician and the parallels between his work and that of an artist, musician or writer. Just like a novelist, he wants to tell a good story when he's formulating a mathematical proof. He wants to entertain his audience with suspense, surprise and intrigue.

Maths is like art in trying to find explanations and representations for the world we live in; it provides a language for negotiating abstract ideas. Graham Greene described GH Hardy's book as the best description of what it means to be a creative artist after the diaries of Henry James; and it seems unquestionably true that the artist and mathematician are secretly, or not so secretly, linked.

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Marcus du Sautoy untangles the maths behind great contemporary and historical works of art

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy untangles the maths hidden beneath the surface of some of our great contemporary and historical works of art

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