Nagle Lecture Series

2000 Fall Nagle Lecture

A. K. Dewdney
Do Aliens Do Math?
October 12, 2000

Description of the Talk

This talk concerns “aliens” from outer space, not people from other countries. Mathematics has often been called a “universal language”, because the results of research in mathematics do not depend on the spoken language or culture of whoever (or whatever) does the research. This view will be defended with some well-chosen examples, including a “message” encoded in starlight and first deciphered by Balmer in the 19th century. At the same time, mathematics is far more than just a language. It is a precise manner of thinking which, because the terms of thought are so utterly simple, they seem to defeat the average lay-person (who is used to far more complicated modes of thought). Another well-chosen example will make this proposition clear.

Description of the Speaker

A. K. Dewdney is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo and a long-time writer and lecturer on the subjects of mathematics and computing. He conducted the Mathematical Games and Computer Recreations columns in Scientific American magazine for seven years and has written some dozen books in the areas of science, mathematics and computing. His 1994 classic, “The Plainverse: Computer Contact With a Two-Dimensional World”, has just been re-published by Copernicus Books (Springer, New York). Dewdney lives in Ontario, Canada, where he is currently exploring new approaches to teaching mathematics with colleagues at the University of Waterloo.