Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2019

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Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

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Mind-expanding talks and hands-on science, inspiring children and adults alike since 1825.

Great scientists, even greater questions. Mind-expanding talks and hands-on science, inspiring children and adults alike since 1825.

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Hannah Fry

David Dugan

Laura Voak

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: 2019: Secrets & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths: How Can We All Win?

How Can We All Win?

2019: Secrets & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths

BBC Four - Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, 2019: Secrets & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths, How Can We All Win?

Dr Hannah Fry questions how far we should be going with our mathematical skills. 

Dr Hannah Fry tests the limits of our control, from gravity-defying stunts to human-sized drones, and delves into the world of fake news to separate the truth from the lies.

Dr Hannah Fry explores the limits of our control, from dangerous miscalculations to creating and spotting fake videos, and questions how far we should be going with our mathematical skills. 

A gravity-defying BMX stunt kick-starts the debate around trusting the numbers, and launches us into an investigation of just how sure we can be about anything in our messy world. Together with maths comedian Matt Parker, Hannah uses flaming balloons and gigantic slices of melting cheese to get to the bottom of the guesswork used in real world calculations. A visiting drone zips through the corridors of the historic Royal Institution building, introducing the mother of all drones, a human-sized machine that delivers urgent parcels, and we welcome the team designing driverless helicopters and buying up London rooftops to prepare for the future. 

But these physical challenges are just the beginning of the debate on handing control over to machines. Hannah explores whether human jurors or robots make fairer decisions, and welcomes Atima Lui, who is on a mission to design the most unbiased facial detection software in the world, which will say goodbye to the ‘fast track for white people’ at automatic passport gates. Hannah dives into the issues around privacy in our modern world, with Glow Up make-up star Tiffany Hunt making a member of the audience invisible to CCTV, while Hannah explores the truth behind cookies and anonymity online. 

Finally, she delves into the world of fake news, to separate the truth from the lies. Leading deep fake creators team up with the Christmas Lectures to create a television first – a custom-made deep fake video of a child in the audience, highlighting our ability to use maths to warp reality however we please. 

Hannah ultimately explores who the real winners are, in an escalating arms race of mathematical tricks.


Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: 2019: Secrets & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths

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BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

Dr Hannah Fry reveals the hidden rules and patterns that govern every aspect of our world.

Dr Hannah Fry reveals the hidden numbers, rules and patterns that govern every aspect of our world without us realising, using mind-boggling demos and daring live experiments.

Dr Hannah Fry reveals the hidden numbers, rules and patterns that govern every aspect of our world without us realising, using mind-boggling demos and daring live experiments.

The Christmas Lectures are the most prestigious event in the Royal Institution calendar, dating from 1825 when Michael Faraday founded the series. They hold the title of the world’s longest-running science television series, and always promise to inspire and amaze on a new topic each year through explosive demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.

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Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

2019: Secrets & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths

How Can We All Win?

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