Lectures by Royal Institution

Started by Michael Faraday in 1825, and now broadcast on UK national television every year, the CHRISTMAS LECTURES are the UK's flagship science series.

The CHRISTMAS LECTURES are repeated in a number of countries across the world like Singapore and Japan.

This year's lecture is given by Mathematician Dr Hannah Fry (@FryRsquared) - Secrets and lies: The hidden power of maths. Hannah Fry revealed a hidden layer of maths that now drives everyday life in powerful and surprising ways. Life’s most astonishing miracles can be understood with probability, big data dictates many of the trends we follow, and powerful algorithms secretly influence even our most important life choices. 

Broadcasted on BBC 4 at 8pm on 26, 27 and 28 December and now on the Youtube. Yesterday the final lecture has been uploaded the RI channel.

Part 3: How Can We All Win?

The final lecture is about why maths can fail and asks what the limits of maths are.

Part 2: How to Bend the Rules

It is about how data-gobbling algorithms have taken over our lives and now control almost everything we do without us even realising.

Part 1: How to Get Lucky

It is about how mathematical thinking and probability can allow us to understand and predict complex systems - even helping us to make our own luck.

To watch all the videos by Hannah Fry you can visit her website

You can watch the past lectures to catch up with past CHRISTMAS LECTURES in full and for free on RI's online archive.

There are three books related with Christmas Lectures

- 13 journeys through space and time by Colin Stuart

- 11 Explorations into Life on Earth by Helen Scales

- 10 Voyages Through the Human Mind by Cat de Lange

You can support and donate for the Christmas lectures here

Click here for the Royal Institution Youtube Channel