Mathematics - ICTP/SISSA Joint Colloquium of 11 April

[Math]

Please note change of venue: the Colloquium will be held in the Main 
Lecture Hall (ICTP Main Building)

Professor Arnold's lectures of 20 and 26 April will also be held in the 
Main Lecture Hall.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ICTP/SISSA
Joint Colloquium in Mathematics


Announcement


Tuesday, 11 April, at 14.00 hrs.


Professor V.I. Arnold
(Steklov Mathematical Institute, Moscow, Russia)


Complexity of Finite Sequences


Abstract:

Everyone understands that the sequence 001001001001 (of 12 binary  
numbers) is less complicated than the sequence 010010111001. The talk  
provides an exact mathematical meaning to this complexity notion in 
terms of the graphs of mappings of finite sets to themselves, leading 
to a hierarchy of the elements of a finite ring of functions and of its 
subring of polynomials.  Experiments suggest that the most complicated  
function is the logarithm.  The ring of polynomials forms a binary tree 
with 2^2^k vertices (=2,4,256, ...).

This lecture is part of Professor Arnold's series of lectures in 
"Experimental Discoveries of Mathematical Facts", but it can be 
followed independently from the other lectures.

VENUE:  Main Lecture Hall
(ICTP Main Building, 1S level)