1997 Christmas Lectures

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures were started by Michael Faraday in 1825, as a way to put scientific ideas over to young people. They have been held once a year around Christmas, except during World War II. Faraday delivered 19 lecture series himself, though the first series was given by John Millington. Since then many other scientists have presented them. They have been televised since 1966.

Only three times, during the last 187 years, has the theme of the lectures been mathematics. The first occasion was in 1978, when Christopher Zeeman lectured on "Mathematics Into Pictures". The second was in 1997, when I lectured on "The Magical Maze". And the third was in 2006, when Marcus du Sautoy lectured on "The Num8er My5teries".

Most of the televised lectures are no longer available in VHS or DVD format, but the Royal Institution has made many of them available as webcasts. To view them, you will have to register with the Royal Institution website (which is free). The website provides technical information on system requirements and media player software. Once registered, you can either navigate the website, or use the links below.

The Magical Maze
LECTURE 1 IMAGE Sunflowers and Snowflakes Introductory lecture about
mathematical patterns in
Nature and Music
LECTURE 2 IMAGE The Pattern of Tiny Feet Symmetries in animal
movement with applications
to robotics
LECTURE 3 IMAGE Outrageous Fortune Probability and its
applications including the
explosion of the
Challenger space shuttle
in 1986
LECTURE 4 IMAGE Chaos and Cauliflowers Chaos and fractals, with
applications to patterns
in Nature
LECTURE 5 IMAGE Fearful Symmetry The mathematics of symmetry,
with applications to animal
markings (spots and stripes),
sand dunes, and wallpaper
patterns