StarTalk Radio Is the Universe a Math Problem? With Terence Tao
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Feb 24, 2026 
Terence Tao, UCLA mathematician known for wide-ranging breakthroughs, joins to explore math’s role in physics and computation. He discusses toy models and approximations, unsolved problems like Collatz, how pure math later finds application, bases and number systems, and whether new math or tests could reveal a simulated reality.
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Host Early Interdisciplinary Workshops To Seed Breakthroughs
- Create early, focused workshops that bring experts from math, science, and industry together to expose mathematical obstacles.
- Tao advises socializing ideas across fields at IPAM to let casual conversations seed breakthroughs in areas like AI and self-driving cars.
IPAM Workshop Led To Faster MRI Algorithms
- IPAM runs interdisciplinary programs that pair mathematicians with industry and scientists to remove mathematical roadblocks.
- Tao recounts an early program that led to new MRI algorithms now used in modern machines, producing scans up to ten times faster.
Pure Math Explores Patterns While Applied Math Builds Tools
- Pure math explores abstract patterns without immediate application and often discovers structures motivated by internal curiosity.
- Terence Tao contrasts this with applied math, which targets tools useful to scientists like atmospheric modeling and numerical methods.