Today@Dal

Dalhousie’s ‘mathematical music guru’ Dr. Jason Brown, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, is scheduled to present and play live at Koerner Hall in Toronto for IDEACITY 2014 — a TED-talk like conference that has become "Canada’s Premier Meeting of the Minds."

You can tune into the webcast on June 20 at 3:15 p.m. to hear him present on “Math and Music” with the support of a band.

The mathematics of rock and roll

Dr. Brown’s work has uncovered music mysteries across all genres and has gathered worldwide attention from national and international newspapers, magazines, and web sites. He has revealed the astounding opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night," explored why the blues are so good and how the Beatles conquered North America with math in "I Want to Hold Your Hand." He has even created an original song in the style of the early Beatles and appeared on the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet a number of times, jamming alongside host Jay Ingram. Listen to his recent podcast [begins at 11:45] with Zoomer Radio in Toronto, leading up to his presentation at Ideacity 2014.

“Music and math are not really that far apart,” explains Dr. Brown. “They’ve found that children that listen to music do better at math, because math and music both use the brain in similar ways. The best music is analytical and pattern-filled and mathematics has a lot of aesthetics to it. They complement each other well.”

IDEACITY

Held annually, the three-day gathering hosts 50 presenters including distinguished thinkers, artistic talents, literary heavyweights, innovative scientists and visionary entrepreneurs. Some notables this year include Buzz Aldrin and fiddler Ashley MacIsaac among many others. Other alumni and audience members include Deepak Chopra, Margaret Atwood, Romeo Dallaire, Robert Kennedy Jr., Jann Arden, and Michael Ignatieff. Ideacity is more than just a stage to air new concepts – it’s an incubator for inspiration.

Find out more at http://www.ideacityonline.com/