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The following article
is reprinted courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator, McMaster University’s
partner in the Science in the City Lecture Series.
Mac
prof looks at the infinite number of possibilities
'People just need to be inquisitive
and open and they'll hear good stuff'
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
Students everywhere are all too familiar with lectures that go
on forever.
But when McMaster University professor Dr. Miroslav Lovric takes
the lectern tomorrow, he'll be talking about infinity, not to it.
It's a subject that perplexes the ordinary and has driven the brilliant
to madness. But Lovric says his audience for the Science in the
City lecture series needs no mathematical background, just the courage
to examine conventional beliefs.
"This lecture might threaten, and possibly change, some of
our most cherished notions about life and the world we live in,"
Lovric said.
It's a tall order. But Lovric, an award-winning teacher in Mac's
department of mathematics and statistics, says his ultimate goal
is to show that mathematics has fundamental ideas that run through
history, culture, religion and science.
"For instance, we see the idea of infinity in Islamic mosaics.
We see the finite part as we face it but our mind can contemplate
what the whole thing looks like when it goes on forever."
The concept of infinity -- the idea that numbers, time or space
have no limit -- began with the theological concept of an immortal,
all-knowing and ever-present god that defines many religions of
the world, says Lovric.
Although the idea of infinity has been pondered by all the world's
civilizations since ancient times, German mathematician Georg Cantor
was the first to formalize the idea into a mathematical principle.
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Though he laid the
foundation for the study of infinity, Lovric says accepting
his methods means pondering ideas that don't make intuitive
sense.
For instance, if you accept Cantor's formulation, a line
segment, no matter how long -- a metre or a thousand metres
-- has the same number of points on it. That number is infinite.
You must also allow that at some point, sometimes called the
point of infinity or the vanishing point, two parallel lines
eventually meet.
"Infinity changes everything," Lovric said. "Cantor
had the courage to look infinity into its eyes and what he
saw deeply shocked him."
So shocked him that Cantor spent the end of his life in a
mental institution. He suffered from debilitating seizures
that paralysed him for several days. It was during those periods
when he couldn't move that Cantor claimed to see mathematics
most clearly.
"It's not clear whether he became ill because of his
study of infinity or whether he became a mathematician because
he was ill," Lovric only half jokes.
Another great scholar of infinity principles, Kurt Goedel,
was so suspicious about food that he only trusted his wife
to cook for him.
After she died, he starved to death.
So knowing the dark path that stretches behind and before
him, Lovric promises to bring a lively and informative discussion
to his audience.
There will be no formulas or mathematical symbols, only diagrams
and pictures to illustrate his ideas.
"You can talk about math without talking about math.
People will not even know it's there," he laughed.
"People just need to be inquisitive and open and they'll
hear good stuff. We all have basic mathematical intuition
but we are afraid to use it. But it's fun, it's possible and
it's relevant."
The Science in the City series is a joint venture between
McMaster and The Hamilton Spectator. Lectures are held in
the Spectator auditorium at 44 Frid St. Doors open at 6:30
p.m. and the lecture begins at 7 p.m. There will also be a
special Science
in the City for Kids event on Saturday, March 13, from
9 to 11:30 a.m. at McMaster University in the John Hodgins
Engineering Building, Room 376.
This event is also free and recommended for kids 8-14 and
any adults who would like to attend with them.
Reserve your seats for either event at 905-525-9140, ext.
24934, or e-mail sciencecity@mcmaster.ca
mmacleod@thespec.com
905-526-3408 |
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