Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley
Brian Cox and Robin Ince reveal the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature.
The Infinite Monkey Cage · BBC Radio 4
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Show Notes
Brian Cox and Robin Ince unpick the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature with mathematicians Sarah Hart & Thomas Woolley and comedian Dave Gorman.
The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had millennia to experiment. How do trees achieve the optimal distribution of leaves and why are tortoise shells so geometrically exciting?
Plus we learn why the cheetah got its spots, thanks to the work of Thomas Woolley’s mathematical hero, Alan Turing, how numbers can be more or less irrational, and why Dave Gorman has a vendetta against oblongs.
Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani