Frames of Mind

These are extracts from the film “Thinking Space”.

How do mathematicians think? This 60 minute documentary film features nine UK-based mathematicians offering insights into their mathematical thinking across a broad range of mathematical research fields.

Through explorations of their various thought processes, the film portrays mathematicians who are grappling with advanced mathematical ideas. We are presented with the concepts of imagination, intuition, and wonder, as well as rigorous mathematical deduction.

The film features Kevin Buzzard, Peter Donnelly, Tim Gowers, Martin Hairer, Roger Penrose, Caroline Series, Richard Thomas, Reidun Twarock, and Karen Vogtmann.

The film was commissioned by The London Mathematical Society, as part of its 150th Anniversary Celebrations. The full length version of the film is available here

(Please click on the images to view the extracts.)

Caroline Series Karen Vogtmann
Caroline Series FRS
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, University of Warwick
Hyperbolic geometry
Caroline talks about the contraction mapping theorem and fractals
 
Karen Vogtmann
Professor of Pure Mathematics, University of Warwick
Geometric group theory
Karen talks about cohomology
Kevin Buzzard Martin hairer
Kevin Buzzard
Professor of Pure Mathematics, Imperial College London

Algebraic Number Theory
Kevin talks about the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture
Martin Hairer FRS
Regius Professor of Mathematics, University of Warwick
Fields Medal 2014
Stochastic analysis
Martin talks about the challenge of a hard problem
Peter Donnelly
 
Reidun Twarock
Peter Donnelly FRS
Professor of Statistical Science, University of Oxford
Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics
Peter talks about a genetic map of the UK
Reidun Twarock
Professor of Mathematics, University of York
Mathematical biology
Reidun talks about non-crystallographic symmetry in viruses
Roger Penrose
Roger Penrose FRS
Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford
Mathematical physics
Roger talks about the idea of a trapped surface
 
Roger Penrose FRS
Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford
Mathematical physics
Roger talks about his non-periodic tilings
Richard Thomas Tim Gowers
Richard Thomas FRS
Professor of Pure Mathematics, Imperial College London
Algebraic geometry
Richard talks about the Göttsche conjecture
Tim Gowers FRS
Royal Society Research Professor, University of Cambridge
Fields Medal 1998
Combinatorics
Tim talks about quasi-randomness in combinatorics