Each year the Mathematics Association of Victoria gives a series of fun, interesting and free lectures.

VENUE: The Age Theatre, Melbourne Museum
Carlton Gardens, Carlton, Melbourne
Melway reference: 2B J10
TIME: 11:30am to 12:30pm on Sundays as listed
COST: Free! Note: teachers and students attending the public lectures can also visit the rest of the museum free-of-charge

As a general guide Burkard’s sessions are more suitable for primary students and Marty’s are more suitable for secondary students and adults.

MATHEMAGICAL TRICKERY
Presented by Dr Burkard Polster
DATE: Sunday, 10 August 2008  

In this special performance, the Mysterious Masked Mathemagician will amaze you with ingenious mathematical tricks used by conmen, fraudsters, and world-famous illusionists such as David Copperfield. This is a once-in a lifetime opportunity to find out some of the most closely guarded secrets of the art of mathemagical trickery. Don’t miss it!

CHEATING LIKE A MATHEMATICIAN: A HISTORY
Presented by Dr Marty Ross 
DATE: Sunday, 14 September 2008

What is the key to success in mathematics? Cheating! When confronted with an unsolvable problem, mathematicians have simply change the rules, and “solved” the problem according to their new rules. Amazingly, this underhanded technique has proved to be incredibly successful, not just for the sneaky mathematicians, but for mathematics itself. In this talk we’ll give a capsule history of mathematics, as two thousand years of such cheating.
 
THE SECRET LIFE OF SOAP BUBBLES
Presented by Dr Burkard Polster
DATE: Sunday, 12 October 2008  

Kids love blowing bubbles: you can pop them, and you can make a mess! Mathematicians love bubbles too, because they are mathematical oracles: they are guides to beautiful solutions of many tricky problems. Come and discover the best-kept secrets of soap bubble maths. Learn how to use these secrets to your own evil ends, and get some practical advice on doing the impossible: blowing bubbles in bubbles, making cubical bubbles, exploding dodecahedral bubbles, and more.
 
MARTY – POKER, NUCLEAR WAR AND OTHER FUN GAMES
Presented by Dr Marty Ross
DATE: Sunday, 9 November 2008  

Games are not just games anymore. Now that mathematicians are playing, “games” are everywhere, used to analyse anything and everything. This idea of was made famous by the mathematician John Nash (Russell Crowe), propositioning girls in A Beautiful Mind. In the real world, it led to Nash’s Nobel Prize for Economics. Beyond this, game theory has been applied to biology, to politics and war, and to much, much more. In our talk will describe how mathematicians think about games. We’ll show how game theory can provide insight whenever there is the possibility of conflict or competition, or even of cooperation.

Bookings are required.

For more information and bookings see the Maths Association of Victoria website http://www.mav.vic.edu.au/public-lectures/2008/index.html