Showing results by author "Ian Stewart" in Politics & Social Sciences

How can I get drivers to slow down in my neighborhood? What’s Vision Zero all about? Why does it take so long to get a sidewalk/bike lane or a reduced speed limit approved? Welcome to the Mechanics of Transportation – a podcast that will answer these questions as well as introduce you to people who you may want to share a bike ride, bus ride or walk with.Transportation

What's the Use? asks why there is such a vast gulf between public perceptions of mathematics and reality. It shows how mathematics is vital, often in surprising ways, behind the scenes of daily life. How politicians pick their voters. How an absurd little puzzle solved 300 years ago leads to efficient methods for kidney transplants. How an Irish mathematician's obsession with a new number system improves special effects in movies and computer games. How SatNav relies on at least six mathematical techniques.

Mathematician Ian Stewart tells listeners what he wishes he had known when he was a student. He takes up subjects ranging from the philosophical to the practical - what mathematics is and why it’s worth doing, the relationship between logic and proof, the role of beauty in mathematical thinking, the future of mathematics, how to deal with the peculiarities of the mathematical community, and many others.

Uncertainty is everywhere. It lurks in every consideration of the future - the weather, the economy, the sex of an unborn child - even quantities we think that we know such as populations or the transit of the planets contain the possibility of error. It's no wonder that, throughout that history, we have attempted to produce rigidly defined areas of uncertainty....

In this two part series, I’ll take you on a trip through the history of Mayo Island and the Mayo Bridge, from its early beginnings to what the future holds for this historic part of the Richmond Virginia landscape.