Roger Penrose returns to Wadham

Our Warden, Robert Hannigan, and Professorial Fellow in Physics, Paolo Radaelli were in conversation with Sir Roger Penrose at an intimate, small-scale evening for students and Fellows at Wadham.

Sir Roger spoke about his time as a schoolboy, sharing how he was moved to a lower Maths set for being too slow at mental arithmetic. It took a special teacher to realise that speed was not the same as ability. When he was given more time, he was able to solve complex problems.

He shared other stories from his academic career and time at institutions including University College London, St John's in Cambridge, and Wadham. As discussion with physicist students turned technical, he discussed the development of his Twistor Theory.

Through his anecdotes, one saw how much Sir Roger valued his colleagues, and the influence they had on him. The son of an artist, Sir Roger was always interested in art and particularly in impossible shapes. He had been influenced by and also had an influence on M.C. Escher, whose lithograph Waterfall (1961) was inspired by Sir Roger's impossible triangle. Sir Roger also felt lucky to have been in the right place at the right time on many occasions. This luck led to fortunate meetings with Stephen Hawking, Richard Feynman, and also with M.C. Escher.

Our students asked many questions about Sir Roger's life and work, and we hope that he will return to Wadham soon to tell us more.

Sir Roger last visited us in 2022 to give a 'Wadham in the World' talk. Bletchley Park: Mathematicians & National Security is still available to watch on YouTube.