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Physics

Marcus du Sautoy: How maths blows my mind – and how it will save us

In the first of a new series of quickfire interviews, mathematician Marcus du Sautoy talks symmetry, spellcheckers and why he'll see the apocalypse coming

1 May 2019

Marcus du Sautoy

First up, do you have a telescope?

Yes, and it is called mathematics. Ever since we have been looking up at the night sky, mathematics has been a powerful tool to navigate the cosmos. Trigonometry helps us to work out how far the planets are from the sun. The laws of motion tell us when to expect an eclipse and even told us about a missing planet: Neptune.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I wanted to be a spy.

Explain what you do in one easy paragraph.

A mathematician is a…

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