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SUMMARY:Paul Dirac and the Religion of Mathematical Beauty - Graham Farmel
 o
DTSTART:20110201T200000Z
DTEND:20110201T211500Z
UID:TALK29315@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:18101
DESCRIPTION:followed by a wine reception\nFREE for members\n2 pounds for n
 on-members\n\nPaul Dirac\, sometimes called 'the first truly modern theore
 tical physicist'\, was obsessed by mathematical beauty. He believed that o
 ur fundamental understanding of the universe advanced by theories of succe
 ssively greater aesthetical appeal\, an idea he enshrined in his principle
  of mathematical beauty\, which he regarded as being 'like a religion'. In
  this talk\, Graham Farmelo looks at the early origins of Dirac's obsessio
 n with beauty\, and the progress he made in turning it into a useful conce
 pt in physics. Graham shall also examine the singular personality of 'the 
 strangest man'\, as Bohr called him.
LOCATION:The Plant Science Lecture Theatre on Downing Site (www.scisoc.com
  for directions)
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