Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley

Brian Cox and Robin Ince unpick the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature with mathematicians Sarah Hart & Thomas Woolley and comedian Dave Gorman.The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had millennia to experiment. How do trees achieve the optimal distribution of leaves and why are tortoise shells so geometrically exciting?Plus we learn why the cheetah got its spots, thanks to the work of Thomas Woolley’s mathematical hero, Alan Turing, how numbers can be more or less irrational, and why Dave Gorman has a vendetta against oblongs. Producer: Melanie Brown
Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani

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Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley

The Infinite Monkey Cage Series 32

The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had millennia to experiment. How do trees achieve the optimal distribution of leaves and why are tortoise shells so geometrically exciting?

Plus we learn why the cheetah got its spots, thanks to the work of Thomas Woolley’s mathematical hero, Alan Turing, how numbers can be more or less irrational, and why Dave Gorman has a vendetta against oblongs.

Producer: Melanie Brown
Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani

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42 minutes

Last on

Sat 29 Mar 2025
19:15

BBC Radio 4

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Thu 27 Mar 2025
11:00

BBC Radio 4

Sat 29 Mar 2025
19:15

BBC Radio 4

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[Original source](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0028d2q)