Professor Sir David and Lady Wallace were the very special guests at the Culford School annual Scholars’ lecture and black-tie dinner at the end of September. Professor Sir David Wallace CBE is the Director of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge. He is also Master of Churchill College, Cambridge.
Professor Wallace chose ‘Five Millennia of Mathematics and its Applications’ as the title of his lecture. He skilfully guided the audience of over 100 pupils, parents and teachers through the complex developments of mathematical systems and their practical applications. In one section of his lecture Sir David focused his attention on the Sumerian mathematical system. He gave the audience a brief introductory lesson on how the system worked and then how to count using the cuneiform numbers.
He also later demonstrated how things can go sadly awry if mathematical systems used in the buying and selling of stocks and shares are left to unsupervised automated computer systems. Finally, Sir David gave the audience an insightful tour of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences. He spoke about his work there and the different kinds of research projects that are undertaken at the Institute.
Head of Scholars at Culford, Dr Alan Palmer, commented “We were delighted to welcome Sir David and Lady Wallace to Culford for this annual fixture. It was a superb way to launch our scholars’ programme for the coming year and everyone who attended was very impressed by Sir David’s fascinating talk and his willingness to engage in conversation and personal debate following the lecture.”
The lecture concluded with a lively question and answer session followed by a formal dinner in Culford Hall. The evening was the launch event for Culford’s 2011/12 Scholars’ Programme which runs across the school year and includes a wide variety of talks, visits and debates which are open to scholars, interested pupils and teachers. Some events are also open to the wider community, including visits by the author, adventurer and BBC film maker, Matt Dickinson; an evening concert Collegium Regale, given by members of the King’s College Cambridge choir; and an evening of “Mind and Magic” with Michael J Fitch. Tickets for these events may be pre-booked by telephoning 01284 728615.