Formal sciences
Formal science is a branch of science studying disciplines concerned with formal systems, such as logic, mathematics, statistics, theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, information theory, game theory, systems theory, decision theory, and theoretical linguistics. Whereas the natural sciences and social sciences seek to characterize physical systems and social systems, respectively, using empirical methods, the formal sciences are language tools concerned with characterizing abstract structures described by formal systems.
7 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Artificial Intelligence
Melvyn Bragg discusses artificial intelligence and whether a computer could imitate the operations of the human mind.
8 December 2005
Featuring: Jon Agar, Alison Adam, Igor Aleksander
Artificial Intelligence
Melvyn Bragg discusses artificial intelligence and whether a computer could imitate the operations of the human mind.
8 December 2005
Featuring: Jon Agar, Alison Adam, Igor Aleksander
Cryptography
Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of codes including the Caesar cipher, the ‘uncrackable’ Vigenere code, the Enigma machine and the cryptography that underwrites the information age.
29 January 2004
Featuring: Simon Singh, Fred Piper, Lisa Jardine
Game Theory
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss game theory, the mathematical study of decision-making.
10 May 2012
Featuring: Ian Stewart, Andrew Colman, Richard Bradley
Mathematics
Melvyn Bragg examines the way perceptions of the importance of mathematics have fluctuated in the 20th century and what mathematics can reveal about how life began, and how it might continue.
6 May 1999
Featuring: Ian Stewart, Brian Butterworth
Mathematics and Platonism
Melvyn Bragg discusses whether mathematics is a process of invention or of discovery. And if it is a discovery, how can we be sure that the mathematic we think we have discovered is the right one?
11 January 2001
Featuring: Ian Stewart, Margaret Wertheim, John D. Barrow
Maths and Storytelling
Melvyn Bragg discusses the similar origins of mathematics and storytelling which both require a shape and structure to make any sense. But is it possible to apply mathematical logic to literature?
30 September 1999
Featuring: John Allen Paulos, Marina Warner