Mathematics Colloquium: Ostrom Lecture: From the perils of voting to the compelling dark matter mystery of astronomy

2020-03-23

7:00pm SPARK G45

Dr. Donald Saari

A power of mathematics is how it can connect and advance seemingly disparate topics. This is illustrated in this lecture where it is indicated why certain voting rules, including the ones we commonly use, can have election outcomes that violate the voters' intent! It is then shown how lessons learned from "voting" translate into an understanding of that astronomical mystery of dark matter and how it should be analyzed. Background needed in order to follow the lecture is a sense of curiosity, humor, and the ability to add simple numbers.