This morning I was treated with one of the best lectures of the forum – Stacy Williams speaking on “Being a Scientist in the Financial Markets”:
After starting his education as a physicist, Williams was swept into the mammon sector and soon became respected as a mathematical modelling expert. The nice thing about his presentation is his casual, approachable demeanor which generated remarkable audience participation. I was pleased (a little boasting) to answer two of his questions to a surprisingly accurate extent. “How could we better represent this data?” he asked referring to a ghastly grid of numbers (matrix) representing market correlations. This reminded me of similar modelling in physics and I responded “perhaps as a 2D false color grid, say, with red areas representing high correlation and blue for low”. Apparently refreshed by my prediction of his next slide, Dr. Williams asked if I had seen this work before and laughingly offered me a job.
We watched how the square color map of stock correlations evolved around the 2008 financial crash and learned how this could be used to communicate overall market stability – very interesting!
Our typical packed lunchies afterward were frankly despised by many of the participants who at this point were getting “fed up” with the synthetic sandwiches and KitKat overdose.
Since the staff suggested I reserve “O Canada” for the Traditions of Home night, I scrambled for a Plan B to perform tonight. Remembering last night’s singing, Ben suggested we try “Down by the Sally Gardens” – a beautiful old Irish tune. But before we could practice there was a lecture on the biology and mechanism of ageing by Dr. David Gems.
He explored an interesting new theory where ageing is seen as a disease in contrast with the traditional oxidative damage model where it is viewed as a healthy natural process. This is being studied in C. Elegans worms as guinea pigs for treatments that may one day combat age-related maladies in humans.
Immediately afterwards the group split into tours of the Museum of Natural History and the Science Museum. Having explored the former with the boys back on Saturday, I charted the Science Museum exhibits. First, we encountered Identified Flying Objects (IFOs) on exhibit from a variety of space programs including the Apollo Lunar Lander:
The link between the past and the future in a science context:
I was especially inspired by Faraday’s original induction coil which I’ve always admired. Also these books representing the volumes of our genome were quite humbling:
On a frightening note, consider the exhibit of a typical dentist’s practice in the 30s: 
There is so much to cover here I won’t go any further. Suffice it to say that the Science Museum is rich and exciting collection!
I booked it back to the Beit residence to find Ben and throw together an act for tonight. After a few runs through, I saw something great coming together. Time was running out fast and practicing continued on the road to the Old Chelsea Hall:
Everyone was madly rehearsing at the hall; everything from group dances to comedies:
The Australians had quite the furry act:
I can’t mention all the groups that performed, but the Indians and the Russians were so amazing!
Ah yes, Ben and I also did jolly good for the amount of practice – definitely not without mistakes, but most people really enjoyed it.
After such a stunning evening, everyone wanted a photo with everyone else while the LIYSF staff had plans for us to disperse (snicker). Having a glimpse into each other’s cultures really worked to strengthen our friendships and stir our curiosity about these amazing counties.
The fun continued in the common room where poor little me tried working on this blog…
Etienne