0:00:12.429,0:00:17.329
Yes, I am the mathematician[br]who's going to get you so laid.

0:00:17.329,0:00:19.314
(Laughter)

0:00:19.314,0:00:23.931
And to begin I need you[br]to stare at this equation.

0:00:23.931,0:00:27.204
I mean, there's your first orgasm[br]right there, I know it.

0:00:27.204,0:00:30.763
But these are very sophisticated equations

0:00:30.763,0:00:33.502
that model a successful marriage.

0:00:33.502,0:00:35.532
And they're ground breaking equations

0:00:35.532,0:00:39.108
because it was the first time [br]that truly sophisticated mathematics

0:00:39.108,0:00:41.420
was used in the field of romance.

0:00:41.420,0:00:44.940
And they predict with 95% accuracy rate

0:00:44.940,0:00:47.983
whether newlyweds will be together[br]in six years time.

0:00:47.983,0:00:50.138
And you can see there's the "W" for wife

0:00:50.138,0:00:51.950
and the "H" for husband.

0:00:51.950,0:00:56.171
So, they modeled newlyweds[br]talking about areas of contention

0:00:56.171,0:00:58.038
like the in-laws or money.

0:00:58.038,0:01:00.039
And then they modeled the responses

0:01:00.039,0:01:03.429
according to how each partner[br]was responding to the other.

0:01:03.429,0:01:05.113
Body language as well.

0:01:05.113,0:01:08.265
And what came out[br]was this interesting influence factor [br]

0:01:08.265,0:01:09.477
at the end there,

0:01:09.477,0:01:11.867
which actually revealed that couples[br]

0:01:11.867,0:01:14.387
that responded the least to each other

0:01:14.387,0:01:16.819
had a better chance[br]of a successful marriage.

0:01:16.819,0:01:18.389
So that means --[br](Laughter)

0:01:18.389,0:01:21.579
I see some people are like,[br]"We knew that."

0:01:21.579,0:01:24.489
So, couples that compromised the least[br]

0:01:24.489,0:01:26.879
ended up being together the most.

0:01:26.879,0:01:28.255
This was very interesting

0:01:28.255,0:01:30.841
because a lot of therapy[br]has been based on empathy.

0:01:30.841,0:01:32.203
And you laughed before,

0:01:32.203,0:01:34.925
so maybe you don't say [br]when you partner comes home,

0:01:34.925,0:01:38.239
"Yes darling, I know. Let me rub your feet[br]and fix you a martini."

0:01:38.239,0:01:42.305
Because what they've actually found[br]is that might not be the best way forward.

0:01:42.311,0:01:44.539
Maybe the best way,[br]or the mathematics revealed,

0:01:44.539,0:01:47.360
that having high standards[br]and finding ways to reach

0:01:47.360,0:01:50.318
for those standards[br]is in fact the way to go.

0:01:50.318,0:01:52.918
So mathematics is the study of patterns.

0:01:52.918,0:01:56.167
All the symbols that you see[br]are in fact patterns.

0:01:56.167,0:01:58.248
You know, encapsulating patterns.

0:01:58.248,0:02:00.935
And we're very used to seeing

0:02:00.935,0:02:04.112
mathematics being used [br]in physics and engineering.

0:02:04.112,0:02:06.600
That's just because[br]it's been there the most.

0:02:06.600,0:02:09.642
You know, E equals mc squared.[br]That's so early 1900's.

0:02:09.642,0:02:12.198
There's actually been an evolution.

0:02:12.198,0:02:15.334
Since the 80's [br]we've seen mathematics venture

0:02:15.334,0:02:18.886
into stock market analysis,[br]risk analysis that was new.

0:02:18.886,0:02:22.259
And then since the 1990's or 2000's even

0:02:22.259,0:02:26.160
we're seeing mathematics enter[br]into the sometimes called Softer Sciences

0:02:26.160,0:02:29.530
like psychology, sociology,[br]anthropology, biology.

0:02:29.530,0:02:32.181
New mathematics appears every day.

0:02:32.181,0:02:36.022
I brought in a few[br]just to remind you of how that works.

0:02:36.022,0:02:37.699
Here's some latest research.

0:02:37.699,0:02:40.239
This is looking at antibiotic use

0:02:40.239,0:02:44.349
and how to implement antibiotics[br]for tuberculosis

0:02:44.349,0:02:46.183
while getting the patient healthy,

0:02:46.183,0:02:48.717
but making sure[br]that we avoid antibiotic resistance.

0:02:48.717,0:02:50.633
That came out a couple of weeks ago.

0:02:50.633,0:02:55.368
And this is looking at how an opinion[br]spreads through a population.

0:02:55.368,0:03:00.911
And when will you have the coexistence[br]of several opinions, or one big consensus.

0:03:00.911,0:03:03.457
One of my favorites,[br]it's older but I couldn't resist.

0:03:03.457,0:03:07.723
This one's from 2009 and this is[br]how to create the perfect chocolate.

0:03:07.723,0:03:10.728
One that melts in your mouth[br]but not in your hand.

0:03:10.728,0:03:15.178
And yes, these are very sexy equations,[br]I'm sure you'll agree.

0:03:15.178,0:03:19.698
Mathematics is absolutely everywhere[br]these days; it's being used everywhere.

0:03:19.698,0:03:21.269
It really is no surprise

0:03:21.269,0:03:23.870
that now we're seeing[br]the equations for love.

0:03:23.870,0:03:26.813
Now, love sucks.[br]I know you all know that.

0:03:26.813,0:03:29.912
Because, yes, you're excited at first.

0:03:29.912,0:03:32.780
But then you're scared.[br]Oh, my god. I haven't eaten.

0:03:32.780,0:03:35.157
You're sitting looking at your phone,[br]"Please ring!"

0:03:35.157,0:03:37.170
Then they send you a two-word text.

0:03:37.170,0:03:40.191
And you're like, "Whoo-hoo![br]It's on like Donkey Kong."

0:03:40.191,0:03:42.363
(Laughter)

0:03:44.223,0:03:47.654
And so these equations[br]look at which personality traits

0:03:47.654,0:03:50.422
are more likely to come together

0:03:50.422,0:03:52.830
to have a more stable [br]companionship type love

0:03:52.830,0:03:54.137
because some people

0:03:54.137,0:03:56.124
they just end up being[br]up and down continuously.

0:03:56.124,0:03:58.612
Imagine being in a relationship[br]with Charlie Sheen.

0:03:58.612,0:04:00.673
That would be like[br]well, unlike Donkey Kong

0:04:00.673,0:04:02.735
and also like this.[br](Laughter)

0:04:02.735,0:04:05.976
It gets a bit out of control --[br]mathematically quite fast.

0:04:05.976,0:04:08.727
So just to tell you, it's about

0:04:08.727,0:04:11.310
one thing to look out for[br]is if your partner --

0:04:11.310,0:04:13.484
if you overestimate[br]your partner's qualities.

0:04:13.484,0:04:16.547
So with partners we can behave[br]a bit like proud parents.

0:04:16.547,0:04:19.667
"He's so smart. He's so sexy."[br]Everyone's just staring at this guy like

0:04:19.680,0:04:21.025
(mumbling)

0:04:21.025,0:04:23.768
Anyway, (Laughter)

0:04:23.768,0:04:25.918
here's some more mathematics.

0:04:25.918,0:04:31.288
Now, men report, on average,[br]having had sex with two to four times

0:04:31.288,0:04:34.606
as many women than women do men.

0:04:34.606,0:04:36.571
And this does not make sense.

0:04:36.571,0:04:37.661
(Laughter)

0:04:37.661,0:04:39.901
It doesn't. (Laughter)

0:04:39.901,0:04:43.522
I know you're all thinking,[br]"But what about prostitutes?"

0:04:43.522,0:04:46.221
"But what about my ex?[br]He's slept with everybody."

0:04:46.221,0:04:50.124
No, every time a man[br]has sex with a woman --

0:04:50.124,0:04:51.847
there are averages for other things --

0:04:51.847,0:04:53.977
But in a large enough sample space

0:04:53.977,0:04:56.430
it's going to be about the same,[br]not off like this.

0:04:56.430,0:04:57.755
So here's an example.

0:04:57.755,0:05:00.406
Here's Charlie Sheen.[br]He's had sex with everyone.

0:05:00.406,0:05:01.550
(Laughter)

0:05:01.550,0:05:04.338
Then the next guy, only one.[br]One, one, one.

0:05:04.338,0:05:07.458
And that forces, you see,[br]the outcome for the women.

0:05:07.458,0:05:10.621
The first one's had one.[br]The others have had 2 partners each.

0:05:10.621,0:05:14.577
And 2, 4, 6, 8, 9.[br]9 divided by 5

0:05:14.577,0:05:17.817
and on the right 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.[br]9 divided by 5.

0:05:17.824,0:05:20.077
Every time a man has sex with a woman

0:05:20.077,0:05:22.810
it's adding to the general tally[br]of both sides.

0:05:22.810,0:05:25.305
Now, why is this discrepancy?

0:05:25.305,0:05:28.948
Because the surveys [br]are confidential and non-identifying,

0:05:28.948,0:05:32.586
it turns out, if you ask about kinky things,[br]people are very honest.

0:05:32.586,0:05:33.886
(Laughter)

0:05:33.886,0:05:37.141
What we've turned to[br]is we think it's counting strategy.

0:05:37.141,0:05:43.069
Because if you enumerate[br]you'll be prone to an underestimation.

0:05:43.069,0:05:47.015
If you approximate[br]you'll be prone to an overestimation.

0:05:47.015,0:05:50.091
So it seems women are going,[br]"Justin, Brad,

0:05:50.091,0:05:53.102
the guy with the sexy biceps. The end."

0:05:53.102,0:05:57.162
And men are going,[br]"20 a year for the last 5 years."

0:05:57.162,0:06:00.176
(Laughter) You know.

0:06:00.669,0:06:03.735
My favorite clue in all the data

0:06:03.735,0:06:07.381
was that 80% of men's results[br]were divisible by 5.

0:06:07.381,0:06:10.739
(Laughter)

0:06:10.739,0:06:15.196
So, of course the mathematicians are like,[br]"Yeah, no, you're lying."

0:06:15.196,0:06:17.806
(Laughter)

0:06:19.986,0:06:22.795
Back to some more waves.

0:06:22.795,0:06:26.505
Of course, there are waves[br]in women's hormones.

0:06:26.505,0:06:32.206
And these equations look at what kind[br]of mechanism is in a woman's body --

0:06:32.206,0:06:35.566
how does your body know[br]28 days have gone by?

0:06:35.566,0:06:39.920
And it's based on understanding[br]why women have all their immature eggs

0:06:39.920,0:06:42.504
at birth ready to go.

0:06:42.504,0:06:45.649
We hear so much about women's hormones,[br]

0:06:45.649,0:06:48.444
so I've brought in men's as well.

0:06:48.444,0:06:52.099
These are ---[br](Laughter)

0:06:52.099,0:06:54.996
These are real.[br]I'm not making them up.

0:06:54.996,0:07:00.192
These model the relationship between[br]the brain and the testes

0:07:00.192,0:07:04.236
as the fluctuation happens during the day.

0:07:04.236,0:07:06.596
(Laughter)

0:07:07.976,0:07:09.507
I promise these are real.

0:07:09.507,0:07:12.668
Testosterone, for example,[br]has a peak in the morning.

0:07:12.668,0:07:15.076
And a slump in the evening.

0:07:15.076,0:07:18.010
But there's actually[br]a mini testosterone peak[br]

0:07:18.010,0:07:21.184
every 2 to 2.5 hours in between.

0:07:21.184,0:07:24.239
So, you know what that means.[br]Especially women.

0:07:24.239,0:07:26.649
If you ask a guy a favor[br]and he's not responding

0:07:26.649,0:07:29.239
just wait half an hour[br]and ask again, just try and --

0:07:29.239,0:07:30.439
(Laughter)

0:07:30.439,0:07:33.924
just try and get that slump moment.

0:07:33.924,0:07:35.867
It's got its purposes.

0:07:35.867,0:07:38.200
Though the peak[br]has another purpose as well.

0:07:38.200,0:07:41.555
Yes, this is all great fun[br]and I could carry on with fun maths

0:07:41.555,0:07:43.047
and sex problems for hours.

0:07:43.047,0:07:47.239
But ultimately, what I'm about[br]is our amazing brain

0:07:47.239,0:07:52.143
and the impact of abstract thinking[br]and the power of abstract thinking.

0:07:52.143,0:07:55.406
And so let me turn things[br]a little bit around on you and say,

0:07:55.406,0:07:58.202
What do you think happens[br]if you think about sex

0:07:58.202,0:07:59.774
before doing mathematics?

0:07:59.774,0:08:02.498
Because it's actually[br]not super distracting.

0:08:02.498,0:08:04.529
You'll actually become better

0:08:04.529,0:08:07.412
at doing certain types of brain processes.

0:08:07.412,0:08:10.869
It turns out there's two fundamental types[br]of brain processes.

0:08:10.869,0:08:12.952
You either think globally or locally.[br]

0:08:12.952,0:08:14.395
Forest or trees.

0:08:14.395,0:08:16.550
And when you're solving a problem,

0:08:16.550,0:08:20.899
you often start with the global[br]kind of analysis

0:08:20.899,0:08:24.419
and then you have to dig in deep[br]and follow leads to solutions.

0:08:24.419,0:08:27.596
It turns out that we're now seeing[br]with the latest research

0:08:27.596,0:08:31.646
that this is linked to creative[br]versus analytical thinking.

0:08:31.646,0:08:33.787
And more than that we're finding

0:08:33.787,0:08:36.278
that it's actually[br]very easily manipulated.

0:08:36.278,0:08:39.960
So, if you get people to think about love[br]and then solve problems

0:08:39.960,0:08:42.369
they'll be better at the globalization,

0:08:42.369,0:08:44.485
the beginning, the creative part.

0:08:44.485,0:08:47.278
And if you get people to think about sex

0:08:47.278,0:08:51.575
they get better at the process[br]part of the problem solving.

0:08:51.575,0:08:53.117
Easy as that.

0:08:53.117,0:08:56.464
And here's the bigger question[br]that interests me.

0:08:56.464,0:08:58.533
What is this thing called mathematics

0:08:58.533,0:09:01.082
that's only been going[br]for about 2,000 years

0:09:01.082,0:09:03.641
that popped up independently[br]across the world

0:09:03.641,0:09:06.029
that so many people swear they can't do?

0:09:06.029,0:09:09.057
See, there's something[br]that's not quite reconciling there.

0:09:09.057,0:09:11.979
You can't have something[br]that's developed so recently

0:09:11.979,0:09:14.517
with some people[br]just having an extra brain bit.

0:09:14.522,0:09:18.799
No, that doesn't make sense.[br]It's about finding those right triggers.

0:09:18.979,0:09:21.824
Here's a school report card of mine

0:09:21.824,0:09:24.029
in French.

0:09:24.029,0:09:27.846
My parents are these wild, wild travelers[br]always looking for wild parties.

0:09:27.846,0:09:32.837
I'm actually the conservative offspring[br]of some crazy wild people.

0:09:32.837,0:09:36.169
As you see, we lived in Cannes, whatever.[br]Great parties there.

0:09:36.169,0:09:39.941
But more importantly, you can see[br]two out of 20 for mathematics.

0:09:39.941,0:09:44.389
And my best result was 15[br]for Travaux Manuels et Technique.

0:09:44.389,0:09:45.796
which is woodwork.

0:09:45.796,0:09:47.780
(Laughter)

0:09:47.780,0:09:52.697
So it's very clear to me[br]what life is like without mathematics.

0:09:52.697,0:09:56.777
Once I found mathematics at 18[br]when I came to Australia,

0:09:56.777,0:09:59.943
it was the first time[br]that I was connecting to something pure,

0:09:59.943,0:10:02.507
to something that was so amazing.

0:10:02.507,0:10:05.650
You see, pattern recognition

0:10:05.650,0:10:09.393
is right at the core of the animal kingdom.

0:10:09.393,0:10:11.394
You see, even reptiles recognize

0:10:11.394,0:10:14.655
whether it's something[br]to eat, fight or have sex with.

0:10:15.535,0:10:18.928
Even a jellyfish knows which way is up[br]and which way is down.

0:10:18.928,0:10:21.459
Now the seeds of the number concept[br]

0:10:21.459,0:10:24.170
are also very much part[br]of the animal kingdom.

0:10:24.170,0:10:26.452
A pack of animals will recognize

0:10:26.452,0:10:29.134
whether another pack[br]is greater than theirs.

0:10:29.134,0:10:31.947
And you can actually teach a rat[br]to press a lever

0:10:31.947,0:10:34.829
an approximate number of times[br]to get food.

0:10:34.829,0:10:37.226
Now, you see how I used[br]the word approximate.

0:10:37.226,0:10:42.987
That's because the rat doesn't have[br]self-awareness or a linguistic ability

0:10:42.987,0:10:46.877
to capture, tame those innate sensations.

0:10:46.877,0:10:51.558
So if the rat is just tapping three times[br]1, 2, 3 -- it will kind of get it right.

0:10:51.558,0:10:55.124
But once it gets to 16, [br]the poor little rat is tapping away

0:10:55.124,0:10:58.148
it doesn't know where it's reaching.[br]And it's the same with us.

0:10:58.148,0:11:00.710
If you do an experiment[br]where we can't count out

0:11:00.710,0:11:04.167
we'll make exactly the same[br]mistakes as the rat.

0:11:05.127,0:11:06.950
We went further.

0:11:06.950,0:11:10.387
We went to things like 2 + 5 = 5 + 2.

0:11:10.387,0:11:13.929
I can swap the order of things[br]and still reach the same result.

0:11:13.929,0:11:15.597
We went further still.

0:11:15.597,0:11:17.947
A + B = B + A

0:11:17.947,0:11:21.045
I can substitute[br]any of the infinite number of numbers

0:11:21.045,0:11:24.968
that I'm now aware of in that formula[br]and it means the same thing.

0:11:24.968,0:11:29.133
You see, language is more[br]than just naming things.

0:11:29.133,0:11:33.600
With it, we also got cause and effect[br]and temporal reasoning.

0:11:33.600,0:11:39.784
Mathematics is our most precise use[br]of this syntactical understanding.

0:11:39.784,0:11:43.758
Because with mathematics [br]at each step that you're creating

0:11:43.758,0:11:46.796
the pattern linking discovery,[br]there's no ambiguity.

0:11:46.796,0:11:49.427
It is very precise[br]what you're doing at each step,

0:11:49.427,0:11:53.027
what is in each classification.[br]True or false. That's it.

0:11:53.027,0:11:58.144
In the box or outside the box.[br]It's very clear, ultimate precision.

0:11:58.144,0:12:01.287
And that is why mathematics is so powerful

0:12:01.287,0:12:03.590
and being used more[br]often right through to sex.

0:12:03.590,0:12:06.396
And that's why it's so hard[br]because you're using

0:12:06.396,0:12:11.612
the limits of our evolution[br]right to their extreme.

0:12:11.612,0:12:14.469
We're using,[br]we're taming those innate sensations

0:12:14.469,0:12:17.427
with the most ultimate precision we can.

0:12:17.427,0:12:20.677
Mathematics as you can see, it's just ---

0:12:20.677,0:12:25.499
what's so breath taking is that it emerged[br]independently across the globe.

0:12:25.499,0:12:28.259
And when people came together[br]in peace or war

0:12:28.259,0:12:33.846
they may have clashed when it came [br]to religion, cultures, languages,

0:12:33.846,0:12:38.359
but their mathematics,[br]or pure pattern recognition just meshed.

0:12:38.359,0:12:42.417
You see, mathematics[br]lies right at the roots of humanity.

0:12:42.417,0:12:45.521
Like sex, it transcends human culture.

0:12:45.521,0:12:47.425
And now that I've shared that with you,

0:12:47.425,0:12:49.825
you are the sexiest ladies in town.

0:12:49.825,0:12:50.901
(Laughter)

0:12:50.901,0:12:52.177
Thank you very much.

0:12:52.177,0:12:54.667
(Applause)