Newsletter 02, September 20, 2001
"Knowledge Talks" and "5 Numbers"

While the "The Serendipity of Science" was being broadcast on Radio 4, I have been working on a new radio series that starts next week. "5 Numbers" is five 15-minute programmes that take a bright and breezy look at zero, Pi, the golden ratio, the imaginary number and infinity. The producer Adrian Washbourne and I have only completed a couple of programmes so far, but I am already chuffed with the results. In addition to interviewing various mathematicians, I also chatted to comedian Dave Gorman and Australian DJ Adam Spencer, who are both ex-mathematicians.

The listing magazine Time Out, having heard some of the early preview tapes, said, "Curiously fascinating series on the story of certain key numbers - including infinity and Pi - begins with zero, from the zeros of the mathematician to the void of the philosopher."

If you want to find out more, there is a 5 Numbers section on this website, where you can even hear clips from the series.

The series goes out on Tuesday mornings at 9.30am from 25 September to 23 October on Radio 4 in the United Kingdom. If you cannot pick up Radio 4, then you can listen to the series live via the Radio 4 website.
 

KNOWLEDGE TALKS - Artificial Intelligence

On Friday night (21 September) at 10.30pm I will be chairing a TV debate on artificial intelligence for BBC Knowledge, which ties in with the launch of Spielberg's new movie "AI". Four top researchers discuss what AI means, where we are today, where we might be in 20 years from now, whether the Turing Test is a good test for intelligence, and whether it will ever be passed. Is AI even desirable?

And just before the AI debate, at 9pm, BBC Knowledge will be airing "Breaking the Code", the story of Alan Turing, starring Derek Jacobi, based on Hugh Whitemore's play. If you have access to BBC Knowledge, but you have not seen this before, then I would highly recommend it.

And if you are interested in Turing, Enigma and Bletchley Park, then I would also recommend "Enigma", the movie produced by Mick Jagger, written by Tom Stoppard, based on Robert Harris's novel, and starring Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet and Saffron Burrows. The film is released in the UK on September 28 and in America early next year, but I managed to get into a press screening this week. It is a complex, tense and compelling film, which gives a genuine feel for what life at Bletchley Park must have been like. And, for me, seeing a mocked up bombe (code breaking machine) in action was a real treat.

Cheerio,
Simon Singh.

Ps. I will be travelling for much of the next month or so, giving lectures in Belfast, Warrington, the Netherlands and Canada. If you are interested in coming along, then you can find out more on the lectures page.