Summary
Terence Tao, recognized as one of the world's leading mathematicians, discusses his new book, "Six Maths Essentials," aimed at demystifying mathematics for a general audience. Tao reflects on the common misconceptions about mathematicians, emphasizing that the core concepts of mathematics are rooted in basic ideas that everyone can grasp. He illustrates this by recounting the historical problem of packing cannonballs, which ultimately led to significant advancements in mathematics and has practical applications in modern technology, such as cell phone communication.
The conversation shifts to the impact of artificial intelligence on mathematics, particularly in light of recent claims from AI companies that their models can solve complex mathematical problems at unprecedented speeds. While Tao acknowledges the impressive capabilities of AI, he expresses concern over the lack of transparency and the potential consequences of these technologies. He notes that while AI could revolutionize mathematical research, it also poses risks if mismanaged, particularly in critical areas beyond mathematics.
Tao predicts a future where mathematics will undergo significant changes, potentially leading to a new era of automated problem-solving. He envisions a landscape where mathematicians utilize AI tools to explore numerous problems simultaneously, transforming the field. Despite the challenges posed by AI, he remains optimistic about the potential for human mathematicians to continue making significant contributions, albeit in a rapidly evolving environment.
Show Notes
Terence Tao is widely celebrated as the world’s greatest living mathematician. He was doing university-level maths at the age of 9, won Gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad at 13 - still the youngest person to have done that - and got his PHD at age 20. At 31 he won the Fields Medal - somewhat equivalent to a Nobel Prize for pure mathematics. He has now embarked on what some might consider the greatest challenge of his life - he’s written a book for a general audience, called Six Maths Essentials. This provided the opportunity for Tim to interview Professor Tao. They talked about maths, and the relevance of his kind of abstract maths on everyday life. And they also talked about AI. OpenAI recently released full or partial solutions to 372 unsolved mathematical problems, which has raised existential questions about Tao’s profession. Professor Tao says the disruption in his field might make it “the canary in the coal mine” for the disruption AI is going to create across our way of life. Credits: Presenter: Tim Harford Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon
More from More or Less
Last week, Ukraine launched drone attacks against three data centres owned by Russian tech giant Yandex. After these attacks Yandex announced that they were struggling to maintain their services. This led to widespread claims that Russian disinformation campaign on social media had been affected, as users produced graphs that they argued showed a dramatic decline in suspicious online activity by bots. The claim was even made by the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenksy, saying there was “less hate” online as a result of the strikes. But as the dust settled, it became clear that this wasn’t the simple success story many people hoped it would be. We speak to Shayan Sardarizadeh from BBC Verify and Amil Khan, the co-founder and CEO of Valent. If you’ve seen a number, or a graph, that you think we should look at, email the team: [email protected] Credits: Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Nathan Gower Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: (00:40) First Minister John Swinney has claimed that Scottish pensioners are set to lose £2000, with the money going to fund English social care. We gently suggest he might like to consider the existence of the Barnett formula, and explain that, when you do, the picture looks very different. (06:08 ) The Liberal Democrats have dug out data on maternity injuries that they claim is ‘a shocking indictment of our NHS maternity services’. We explore flaws in their analysis and ask an expert what a better source of data tells us about maternal healthcare. (13:20) Professor Terence Tao is good at maths. Extremely good at maths. We ask him how he feels about AI being better at maths than him. (15:49) Great news! The UK is reducing its deficit at the fastest rate of any G7 nation. Except we’re not. Ah, shame. But we are planning to! Fantastic! But we’ve got reason to be sceptical of these plans. That’s a pity. Join the FT’s Chris Giles on the economic and emotional rollercoaster that is the UK’s fiscal trajectory. (21:14) The series reaches its intellectual zenith as we ask what would happen if you ‘put the whole of the country into baked beans’. Expect back of the tin workings, cutting edge agri-science research and true public service journalism. Just don’t ask what the nadir was. Guests: Dr Spencer Thompson - Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute Professor Marian Knight - Director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford Chris Giles - Economics Commentator at the Financial Times Professor Terence Tao - Professor of Mathematics at UCLA Presenter: Tim Harford Series Producer: Tom Colls Reporters: Nathan Gower and Lizzy McNeill Editor: Richard Vadon Programme Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Engineer: James Beard
A viral video circulating online claims the population of China is actually a billion people lower than the UN and China say. A billion is big number, you'd think the Chinese would notice if that many were missing - and the claim is certainly false. However, as the team dug into the stats, a strange story emerged - which suggests the official data on births and fertility may not be quite as reliable as you might think. We spoke to demographer Professor Sabu Padmadas from the University of Southampton to find out more. If you spot a story you'd like us to dig into contact us at [email protected] Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Mix: James Beard
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:
How much could climate change cost the global economy? That would be a very useful thing to know, and scientists have developed statistical models that they think can help give a reasonable answer. These involve finding the patterns in economic data associated with temperature changes - and then applying them to the future changes that are predicted as the globe warms. In 2024, a scientific paper was published that apparently offered the most accurate projection yet of that potential cost - analysing the impact of temperature on economic activity at a far more granular level than had been attempted before. The paper quickly became highly influential. And then at the end of 2025, it was retracted. Why? It’s all got something to do with Uzbekistan. Solomon Hsiang, Professor of Global Environmental Policy at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, explains how he and his team identified the problem. Presenter: Tim Harford Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: Dave O’Neill Editor: Richard Vadon