Talks and shows

How to expect the unexpected

Making predictions is an essential part of our lives. How can we overcome biology to make sure we get them right?

Ben White via Unsplash

Ever since the dawn of human civilisation, we have been trying to make predictions about what the future holds. We do this on a personal level, so that we can get on with our lives efficiently. We also predict on a much larger scale, often for the good of our broader society, such as planning for economic downturns or preventing terrorist attacks.

Join Kit Yates as he explores how, for just as long as we've been making predictions, we've also been getting them wrong. From religious oracles to weather forecasters, the foibles of our own biology can let us down when it comes to making rational inferences about the world around us. Yet in understanding how and why predictions go wrong, lies the answer to getting our own predictions correct.

Copies of Kit's latest book 'How to Expect the Unexpected: The Science of Making Predictions and the Art of Knowing When Not To', will be available to purchase after the talk.

Event type

This is a theatre only event where the speakers and audience are together in our Theatre.

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For any queries regarding this event please get in touch by phone 020 7409 2992 or email events@ri.ac.uk.

About Kit Yates

A black and white photo of a man stadning against a wall. He is smiling.
Kit Yates

Kit Yates is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and co-director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath. He completed his PhD in Mathematics at the University of Oxford in 2011.

His research demonstrates that mathematics can be used to describe all sorts of real-world phenomena: from embryo formation to locust swarming and from sleeping sickness to egg-shell patterning. He is particularly interested in the role that randomness plays in Biology. His research into Mathematical Biology has been covered by the BBC, the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, RTE, Scientific American and Reuters amongst others.

Along side his academic position, Kit is also an author and science communicator. His first book, 'The Maths of Life and Death', was published in 2019 and has since been translated into 25 languages. 

Timing

Doors to the theatre will open at 6.45pm and the talk will begin at 7.00pm.

Accessibility

The event will take place on the first floor and there is step-free access from the street via lift.

The closest underground station is Green Park, which is step-free.

There is space at floor level in the theatre for wheelchair users.

Seating is usually unreserved for our events. If you and your group require seating reservations, please do let us know by emailing us at events@ri.ac.uk, and we’ll be more than happy to help.

Carers can receive a free ticket to an event by emailing events@ri.ac.uk.

Our theatre is equipped with an Audio Induction Loop. 

Covid guidelines

Face masks are no longer mandatory and wearing one in our Theatre and at other Ri events is at your discretion, however please do not attend the Ri if you are displaying Covid symptoms or, if you have tested, the result remains positive. Thank you for respecting other people and their choices, and for helping us keep all of our visitors and staff safe and well.

Event terms and conditions

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