Randomness

Abstract: Is the universe inherently deterministic or probabilistic? Perhaps more importantly - can we tell the difference between the two? Humanity has pondered the meaning and utility of randomness for millennia. There is a remarkable variety of ways in which we utilize perfect coin tosses to our advantage: in statistics, cryptography, game theory, algorithms, gambling... Indeed, randomness seems indispensable!

Which of these applications survive if the universe had no randomness in it at all? Which of them survive if only poor-quality randomness is available, e.g. that arises from "unpredictable" phenomena like the weather or the stock market?

A computational theory of randomness, developed in the past three decades, reveals (perhaps counter-intuitively) that very little is lost in such deterministic or weakly random worlds. In the talk I'll explain the main ideas and results of this theory.

No special background will be assumed.

Mathematics

Audience: researchers in the discipline

ITB Mathematics Distinguished Lecture Series

Series comments: We aim to bring prominent mathematicians exploring the role of mathematics from various fields, in an intriguing style. The online lectures address quite broad audience, from mathematics students (advanced undergraduate to graduate ones), as well as mathematicians in Indonesia, and our neighboring countries, or even beyond our region. With this lecture series we hope to foster and promote research culture, as well as to highlight the prominent role of mathematics in shaping future society.