11/6/2015

Post date: Nov 9, 2015 9:29:40 PM

Title: Why Model If “All Models Are Wrong?”

Speaker: Ravi Varadhan, Oncology Biostatistics, SKCCC.

[abstract]

In this talk, we will discuss the nature of mathematical modeling. Since the days of ancient Greek thinkers such as Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes, mathematics has been an indispensable tool for the study of nature. Eugene Wigner concluded his famous essay on “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in Natural Sciences” with this cheerful note: “the miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve. We should be grateful for it and hope that it will remain valid in future research and that it will extend to wide branches of learning.” We will examine the effectiveness of mathematics in biomedical sciences.

This talk is not meant to be a boring monologue, but rather to stimulate a lively discussion. Therefore, I would encourage you to read the two attached articles.

(slides)