SMRI Director Geordie Williamson sat down to chat to Oxford University Mathematicians Xenia de la Ossa and Philip Candelas, who visited SMRI in September 2024. This interview explores general characteristics of research in mathematics and physics, however some comments describe more technical aspects of these fields. We have left these in, in the hope that our lay audience will forgive these inclusions as these details may delight and interest researchers in mathematics and physics.