What’s so special about knots? The twists and tangles of knots are behind some of the world’s strongest materials, hide within our DNA, and early scientists such as Lord Kelvin believed that knots were so fundamental to the universe that the different chemical elements were caused by knot configurations! But how can we tell if a knot really is a knot…and if it differs from other knots?
Zsuzsanna Dancso‘s National Science Week lecture was our best-attended yet, with more than 390 registrations. Zsuzsanna spoke about the challenges of devising mathematical tools to evaluate knots, such as a knot invariant. Most of us use graphs to understand social networks and metro maps, but this lecture explored how graphs and networks can be used to understand knots more deeply. Zsuzsanna explained different ways to approach knot invariants, including the art of forgetting some not-so-helpful knot characteristics, and how knots can be used creatively to overcome the Three Utilities Problem. Catch up on the full lecture below!
Watch the recording of the SMRI public lecture:
Photo gallery
Photos by Jayne Ion.
