The Ubiquitous Bell Curve: What it Does and Doesn't Tell Us - Perimeter
Institute Public Lecture on June 2nd

WATERLOO, ON, May 21 /CNW/ - The Bell Curve is an extremely beautiful and elegant mathematical object that turns up - often in surprising ways - in all spheres of human life. For instance, the Bell Curve figures prominently in education as our school system is based on the implicit belief that there are natural, wide bell curves in achievement in students. On Wednesday, June 2 at 7:00 pm, as part of PI's Public Lecture Series, Dr. John Mighton will share evidence that this belief is false and he will describe how the arts and sciences, and society in general, might benefit if we rejected this belief.

John Mighton is a mathematician, author, playwright, and the founder of JUMP Math. He volunteers his time and expertise as the lead curriculum developer for the JUMP Math Student Workbooks and Teacher's Manuals. Dr. Mighton completed a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Toronto and was awarded an NSERC fellowship for postdoctoral research in knot and graph theory. He is currently a Fellow of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences and has also taught mathematics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Mighton also lectured in philosophy at McMaster University, where he received a Masters in philosophy.

Dr. Mighton's lecture, entitled "The Ubiquitous Bell Curve: What it Does and Doesn't Tell Us" and co-presented with the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, will be held Wednesday, June 2 at 7:00 pm in Waterloo, Ontario.

Additional details can be found at www.perimeterinstitute.ca.

More information about the Magnetic North Theatre Festival can be found at www.magneticnorthfestival.ca.

ABOUT PERIMETER INSTITUTE:

Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent, non-profit, scientific research and educational outreach organization where international scientists cluster to push the limits of our understanding of physical laws and develop new ideas about the very essence of space, time, matter and information. The Institute, located in Waterloo, also provides a wide array of educational outreach activities to share the joy of scientific research, discovery and innovation. In partnership with the Governments of Ontario and Canada, PI is a successful example of private and public collaboration in science research and education.

For further information: Media Inquiries: Lisa Lambert, [email protected], [phone] x5051.