Richard N. Merkin Public Lecture

Title:  Toy Models

Abstract:

Would you like to come see some toys?

‘Toy' here has a special sense: an object of daily life which you can make or find within minutes, yet which, if played with imaginatively, reveal behaviors so counter-intuitive that they leave seasoned scientists puzzled for a while.  We will see table-top demos of a diversity of such toys and visit the unusual physics and mathematics that they open up.  You can try many of the demos at home with friends and family.  The theme that emerges is singularity.