Living Proof: the Isaac Newton Institute podcast
Living Proof: the Isaac Newton Institute podcast
#49 How to make maths funny, an interview with Timandra Harkness
In episode #49 of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Maha Kaouri are joined by presenter, writer and comedian Timandra Harkness. The author of Big Data: Does Size Matter? And Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society speaks about her current projects, how to make maths "funny", and how she came to fall in love with mathematics from an arts and humanities background.
> Visit timandraharkness.com or find Timandra on Twitter @TimandraHarknes
00:00 - Introduction
00:44 - Welcome, discussing “Communicating Mathematics for the Public”
03:38 - Origins of Timandra’s interest in maths, understanding “enough to ask the right questions”
07:50 - Discussing the book “Big Data - Does Size Matter?”
11:10 - Other current projects and shows, writing another book about “why everything is personalised”
13:13 - Mingling an arts background with a mathematics focus, “coming out as a closet mathematician”
17:10 - How do you make maths funny as a comedian? ... “What’s a statistician’s favourite sandwich filling?”
21:10 - Future projects