David Sumpter is a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Uppsala, in Sweden, and the author of a wonderful book called The 10 equations that Rule the World.
He talks to Guy Spier about the various applications of mathematics in practical areas of our day-to-day life, such as social media algorithms, graph theory, Bayes’ theorem, and even vaccinations.
Full transcript available here: https://aqfd.docsend.com/view/8sw5qidsc44bzkr2
Contents:
(00:00) Pure Mathematics vs. Applied Mathematics
(10:39) Graph Theory and its Applications
(17:11) The Advertising Equation in Social Media
(20:11) Taking Control of the Algorithms that Control Us
(25:02) “Fluffy Science” vs. Empirical Studies
(32:22) From the Kelly Criterion to Bayes’ Theorem
(41:55) Mathematics Behind Vaccination Hesitancy