"Numbers are the musical notes with which the symphony of the universe is written."
– Adam Spencer
Today is May 1st, in many countries synonymous with “Labour Day” or International Workers’ Day, a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement. In the age of the knowledge economy Labour Day is maybe not that relevant anymore, and I would like to take the opportunity to make an alternative, less serious celebration of some axioms of reality by publishing a TED Talk by Adam Spencer, which I really like.
Adam Spencer is an Australian radio presenter, comedian, and media personality. He is also the University of Sydney’s Mathematics and Science Ambassador. In this talk he brings up the topic of Prime numbers. They are millions of digits long, and it takes an army of mathematicians and machines to hunt them down. Here he shares his passion for these odd numbers, and for the mysterious magic of math.