How mathematics multiplies our meaning
Mathematics and computation are all around us, says Victoria University of Wellington’s Professor Noam Greenberg—but what is computation?
Professor Greenberg, from Victoria’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, is a world-leading researcher in the area of mathematical logic—the part of mathematics that regards language as an object.
In a free public lecture next week, which marks Professor Greenberg’s professorial promotion, he will discuss the hopes for a mechanical way of producing knowledge about the world, how these hopes were crushed, and how from the ruins arose a new theory of computability.
“The theory of computability studies fundamental concepts that underlie much of science and technology, including information, complexity and randomness,” he says, “Elucidating these concepts helps us make sense of the world.”
In 2011, Professor Greenberg became the first mathematician in New Zealand to receive a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship award from the Royal Society of New Zealand.
In 2012, he was one of only five people worldwide to receive a Turing Research Fellowship from the United States-based John Templeton Foundation, and in 2013 he was a recipient of a New Zealand Association of Scientists Research Medal, awarded for outstanding research published by a scientist under the age of 40.
Professor Greenberg’s lecture, geared toward a general audience, will give an overview of what computability theory is and how it was born.
“I’ll talk about the big questions that are tackled by mathematical logic and computability theory—what is computation? How certain can we be about mathematical knowledge? How does randomness relate to computability? How do we measure complexity? I’ll try to make sense of these questions and give some historical background.”
When: 6pm, Tuesday 4 April
Where: Hunter Council Chamber, Level 2, Hunter Building, Kelburn Campus, Victoria University of Wellington
RSVP: RSVP before Friday 31 March. Email rsvp@vuw.ac.nz with 'Greenberg' in the subject line, or phone 04-463 7458