Your Days Are Numbered: the maths of death

Are we in danger of turning statistical modelling from a useful analytical tool to the new astrology? What role should the latest evidence play in forming public health policy?

Drinking is good for you. Being single is bad for you. And in the hour it takes to watch this performance, your life expectancy will go up by 12 minutes.

After sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Cheltenham Science Festival, the comedy that asks “what are the odds?” comes to Imperial College. Will housework double your risk of dying? Is radiation more dangerous than bees? Find out here.

You have a 0.000043% chance of dying during this show. Comedian Timandra Harkness and stand up mathematician Matt Parker will make sure you die laughing.
“Exponentially Funny” - 3 Weeks

After the show, join the performers and other invited guests for a special Battle of Ideas satellite panel discussion on public health, statistics and evidence. From what drugs we criminalise to doctors offering advice on how healthily their patients should be living, ‘evidence-based policy’ is the regular cry for those looking for a rational approach to public health. How far can evidence go in deciding what is a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ choice? Are we in danger of turning statistical modelling from a useful analytical tool to the new astrology? What role should the latest evidence play in forming public health policy?

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