I recently gave a public talk about George Green’s mathematical education and influences, the audio for which is now available online.

Green attended Robert Goodacre’s school in Nottingham 1801-2 and took part in scientific culture in Nottingham, including at Bromley House Library, in the 1810s and 20s, before going to Cambridge in 1833. I speak about each of these aspects and some of the people involved. The audience was mixed public. I was aware I was being recorded and tried quite hard to make audible what was on the slides, so I hope you can follow along just fine.

My title was ‘George Green’s Mathematical Influences’ and the abstract is below:

George Green was an “almost entirely self-taught mathematical genius” (NM Ferrers, 1871) whose work was a major influence on the mathematical physics of the 19th and 20th centuries and shows no signs of stopping in the 21st. But from where or from whom did Green learn his mathematics? Peter Rowlett from Nottingham Trent University surveys Green’s education in Nottingham and Cambridge and those who influenced him.

Get the audio by streaming it from the exhibition page ‘George Green: Nottingham’s Magnificent Mathematician‘ or by direct download (mp4, 28.2MB). The talk is approx. the first 43 minutes, after which are questions, which you might or might not be able to hear but mostly consist of me saying “interesting idea, but I don’t know”.

While there, you can also listen to the previous talk to mine, ‘George Green’s contribution to MRI’ by Prof. Roger Bowley. The George Green exhibition at Nottingham’s Lakeside Arts Centre remains open until Sunday 4 January 2015. I recommend you visit, if you are able.

Related post: George Green: Nottingham’s Magnificent Mathematician.