If you could rewind your life to the very beginning and then press play, would everything turn out the same? Could we make better decisions and live happy, fulfilling lives if we dismantled our illusion of control?
We live in a world where uncertainty is inevitable, but how should we deal with what we don’t know? And what role do chance, chaos and luck play in our lives? Join the UK’s ‘statistical national treasure', David Spiegelhalter, and myth-shattering social scientist, Brian Klaas, as they deep-dive into the phenomenon of randomness, to better understand risks and assess the chances of what might happen in the future.
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter FRS OBE
David Spiegelhalter is Emeritus Professor of Statistics in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He was previously Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, which aimed to improve the way that statistical evidence is used by health professionals, lawyers and policy-makers. He was knighted in 2014 for services to medical statistics, was President of the Royal Statistical Society (2017-2018), and became a Non-Executive Director of the UK Statistics Authority in 2020. David presented the BBC4 documentaries “Tails you Win: the Science of Chance”, and the award-winning “Climate Change by Numbers”. He has written several books including The Art of Statistics, Covid by Numbers and his most recent, The Art of Uncertainty.
Dr. BRIAN KLAAS
Brian Klaas received his BA from Carleton College, his MPhil from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s) and his DPhil from the New College, Oxford. He is Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London and an affiliate researcher at the University of Oxford. Klass has authored five books, including his most recent, Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters and is contributing writer for The Atlantic. He also writes The Garden of Forking Paths Substack and created the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast, which has been downloaded roughly three million times. Klass is regularly featured on the BBC, Sky News, CNN, MSNBC, National Public Radio, Netflix and many other outlets.
Both David and Brian will be signing copies of their latest books, which will be available to purchase on the night. This event will take place downstairs in the Tusk Room at The Walrus Pub, Ship St, Brighton.
DOORS OPEN : 19:00
TALK STARTS : 19:30
AUDIENCE Q&A : 20:30
BOOK SIGNING : 21:00
Brighthink is a non-profit organisation, none of our invited speakers charge for their time, and proceeds from ticket sales go towards the running costs that allow us to put on these events for the public.