London Mathematical Society: Popular Lectures 2013

Maths and its applications are the subject of the annual Popular Lecture series, which this year features Ray Hill (University of Salford) and Dr Vicky Neale (University of Cambridge). First up is Professor Hill on 'Mathematics in the Courtroom' and aspects of it such as the role of coincidence, probability and statistics in criminal trials. These will be considered with reference to cases involving DNA evidence, psychological profiling, and multiple sudden infant deaths – in particular the verdicts in some high-profile cases such as those of James Hanratty, OJ Simpson, Stefan Kiszco, Barry George, Sally Clark, and Harold Shipman. After a break, Dr Neale will discuss 'Addictive Number Theory', looking at some of the problems (solved and unsolved) about adding whole numbers, for example important sequences such as the prime numbers and the square numbers. For free tickets, email popular.lectures@lms.ac.uk.