| |
INDIA'S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1878
|
'Working of brain a major
challenge for mathematicians' |
|
|
by St. Stephen's Mathematical Sciences Foundation,
the noted mathematician pointed out that the mysteries of the
brain presented one of the biggest challenges of the new century."
I think the working of the brain is a major challenge for us.
Neurophysiologists have been doing it, but i think maths might
just be able to provide us with a new way of interpreting the
date available, " believes Sir Michael.
As this year's distinguished visiting maths genius at St. Stephen's,
Sir Michael will be delivering a public lecture on "Science
and Society" this coming Wednesday, apart from interacting
informally with the students and faculty on both maths as well
as his personal life.
Mathematics may be a dreaded subject for most students around
the world, but Sir Michael insists that the blame lies with
schools and teachers in failing to make the subject more interesting
and appealing. "Mathematics is not easy. It needs mental
discipline and hard work, and students need to realise that
it is good to study mathematics. The best of mathematicians
don't go for teaching because they like maths teachers, and
it is all around the world. They need to explain concepts with
reference to real situations but ensure it does not go too far
away from the real issue, " points out Sir Michael.
Born in London in 1929, Michael Atiyah has to his credit the
discovery of the K-theory, which developed a new and powerful
technique in topology, and led to the solution of many difficult
problems. He also established the Index Theorem dealing with
the number of solutions for elliptic differential equations.
|
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, NOV. 7. It is a subject that has tested the best
of brains around the world. Not surprising, ten, that the world's
greatest living mathematician, Sir Michael Francis Atiyah, now
wants to unravel the riddles of the human brain, the 'calculated'
way. Already working on the relationship between geometry and
particle physics, the renowned mathematician and winner of the
Fields Medal feels that the field of biology holds a huge potential
for those from his field.
"Mathematicians have
been involved the concept of physics for a long time. It has
also been happening in chemistry, but biology presents us with
a huge potential. I think we now need to work with biologists
on how to use the data present, specially when it comes to areas
like genetics," said Sir Michael in an interview to The
Hindu today.
In the Capital to participate in a week-long seminar organised
|
|
.jpg)
