Simon Singh to give this years Stirling Lecture.

November 3, 2011; Valentin Khoze

After completing his BBC documentary about Fermat’s Last Theorem (the most notorious problem in the history of mathematics), Simon Singh wrote a No.1 bestselling book on the same subject. Why is the story of Fermat’s Last Theorem so compelling? And how do you turn complex mathematics into a compelling story. As well as showing clips from the documentary and discussing how it was made, Simon will also discuss science in the media more generally. As science impacts on society more than ever before, it is crucial that media reporting is accurate, insightful and informative, rather than distorted, scaremongering and sensationalist. He examines TV and print journalism to discuss the forces at work behind the scenes.