18th November: Art, Creativity, and Mathematics – Marcus du Sautoy

Discover the surprising ways that maths underpins human creativity in music, art, architecture, writing, and our sense of beauty. Beneath the music, architecture, design and even literature we humans create are patterns which arise from the seemingly unrelated world of maths — but where would we look, and how might we find them? The blueprints of this hidden code are everywhere: from the prime numbers and symmetry, to the fractals and hyperbolic geometry upon all of which nature builds the wonders of our universe — and so do human artists and designers. From neolithic stone circles to modernist architecture, from Bach to Radiohead, and from Shakespeare to Dada, it's always there. Our guide to this hidden marvel is Mathematician, author, broadcaster and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Marcus du Sautoy who has spent a lifetime exploring such connections. His latest book, Blueprints: How mathematics shapes creativity, looks to art, music, design and literature to uncover the key mathematical structures that underpin both human creativity and the natural world. On Wednesday 18th November, PubSci is delighted to welcome Professor Marcus du Sautoy to explore the unexpected links that inspire artists and mathematicians alike. Join us at the Old King's Head for a unique, and hugely popular evening. We strongly recommend booking early to avoid disappointment. Copies of Blueprints will be available to buy on the night. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The venue is PubSci's regular home, The Old King's Head near Borough Market, which offers a great range of drinks, has a happy hour before 7pm, and opens the kitchen serving classic pub grub especially for us. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• See below for important booking details – please also check the FAQ. Is PubSci for me...? PubSci presents accessible science talks in the comfort of a pub meeting room so you can enjoy top quality talks with a drink in your hand. No specialist knowledge is needed. Why you should come to this event Marcus du Sautoy is one of the country's leading mathematicians and science popularisers with a knack for making maths feel natural by revealing its hidden connections to the familiar, everyday world. You'll come away with a new sense of wonder at the beauty of the universe and the hidden splendour of maths beneath creativity. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• PubSci talks run for around 45 minutes, followed by a short break and a Q&A session. We aim to finish by 9pm. The Old King's Head has a happy hour before 7 and the kitchen serves traditional pub grub. The nearest tube is London Bridge (Borough High Street exit). See FAQs for more. Reserve you place by booking with Eventbrite today. See below for ticketing options, to read about this month's speakers, and learn more about PubSci. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Tickets Booking is on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis. Unfortunately Eventbrite doesn't make this easy, so please read on to understand how booking works. There are two ticket options: Each ticket type has a separate allocation – please check both for availability. • Book without donating (max 4 tickets) if you prefer to put cash in the pot on the night. • Book for one + Support PubSci (max 1 ticket) if you'd like to contribute with your booking. You don't input a number of tickets, just the amount you wish to contribute which automatically reserves you one spot at the event. If Book without donating is sold out, scroll to check Book for one + Support PubSci. Multiple tickets If you need multiple tickets, you could get one Support PubSci ticket for whatever amount you're comfortable with contributing for your group, then add the rest of your tickets for free as Book without donating. You can do this in one transaction, but how you book is up to you. How much are tickets...? There's no set 'price' – we trust you to contribute what you think is fair for an evening of great science. The precise amount is up to you, but the price of a pub drink is probably a good measure. PubSci receives no other income. More information at the bottom of this page. About our speaker Marcus du Sautoy is professor of mathematics and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford (a chair previously held by Richard Dawkins). He's a fellow of New College Oxford and a keen jazz musician and amateur footballer, for which he wears shirt 17 – a prime number. In fact all the players in Recreativo Hackney wear prime numbers on their shirts! As a mathematician, his research seeks to understand the world of symmetry by using a tool from number theory called zeta functions. Outside the world of mathematical research, Marcus du Sautoy is a highly celebrated populariser of science and mathematics. He delivered the 2006 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures under the title The Num8er My5teries and 2009 he was awarded the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize for “excellence in communicating science to UK audiences”. He writes regularly for The Times, Independent, and The Guardian and has appeared multiple times on BBC Radio 4 including , Today and In Our Time as well as BBC 6 Music with Lauren Laverne. Among his extensive TV work, Marcus has written and presented several BBC series, including “The Story of Maths” (exploring the history of mathematical thinking across different cultures), Precision: The Measure of All Things, and The Code, and was a regular contributor to Dara O’Briain’s series ‘School of Hard Sums’. Marcus is the author of nine popular science books on topics such as prime numbers and music, AI and art, and the limits of human knowledge. His latest book, Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity, was published by Fourth Estate in 2025. Blueprints was a Financial Times "What to Read 2025" book and a Waterstones "Book of the Year" – you can read an extract here. Blueprints came out in paperback earlier this year and will be available to buy on the night. Marcus du Sautoy was appointed OBE for Services to Science in the 2010 New Year Honours and was a 2026 International Booker Prize judge, for which he read 128 books in seven months. PubSci is delighted to welcome Marcus as our speaker for November 2026, our final event for this year. About PubSci PubSci presents accessible science talks in the comfort of a pub meeting room so you can enjoy top quality science talks with a drink in your hand. It is an independent initiative run by volunteers, is not-for-profit, and receives no funding other than attendee contributions. We believe science is for everyone and we want everybody to be able to afford our events, so we run PubSci on a Pay-What-You-Can basis. To contribute via Eventbrite choose "Book for one + support PubSci". To contribute on the night, please bring cash. By making a donation, you make it possible for PubSci to put on events like this. If you're not sure what's a reasonable amount, we suggest the same as you'd pay for a drink at the pub. If you want to support somebody attending who can't afford it, consider putting in the price of two drinks. Note: We aim to keep PubSci accessible for all, but it is unsuitable for under 18s as we meet in the upstairs room of a pub. Regrettably, there is no wheelchair access. Check out our Future Events page where you can also subscribe to our Google Calendar. PubSci events will then automatically appear in your own iCal compatible calendar. You can learn more about PubSci via our LinkTree and download our events programme here. Please see the below for all your FAQs