Hay Festival Abu Dhabi 2020 Programme

Symmetry is all around us. Of great importance for our interpretation of the world, this unique phenomenon indicates a dynamic relationship between objects. In chemistry and physics, the concept of symmetry explains the structures of crystals and the theory of fundamental particles; in evolutionary biology, the natural world uses symmetry in the struggle for survival; symmetry (and the rupture of it) is central in art, architecture and music. This talk offers a very special view of the concept, seen from the point of view of a mathematician. Marcus du Sautoy is Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University and author of The Music of the Primes, The Number Mysteries, and What We Cannot Know.

The mathematician examines the nature of creativity and provides an essential guide to how algorithms work, and the mathematical rules underpinning them. He asks how much of our emotional response to art is a product of our brains reacting to pattern and structure, and exactly what it is to be creative in mathematics, art, language and music. He finds out how long it might be before machines come up with something creative, and whether they might jolt us into being more imaginative in turn. The result is a fascinating and very different exploration into both AI and the essence of what it means to be human. He discusses the issues with quantum physicist José Ignacio Latorre.