The Greeks famously identified many patterns and rhythms in the sky, deducing detailed information about eclipses and orbits that still have relevance today. The Chinese, on the other hand, made landmark discoveries of supernovae and comets – events that were unexpected (stochastic) in nature and not forming any part of any rhythm.

This talk will consider how expectation plays a role in discovery and in scientific advance, and considers the challenges involved in assessing changes taking place on our own planet.

More details on the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/perception-expectation-discovery

Watch it here Live on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/G-TLS_GCECQ

Prof Katherine Blundell was appointed Gresham Professor of Astronomy in 2019. She is a Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University and a Research Fellow at St John’s College. Before this she was one of the Royal Society’s University Research Fellows, a Research Fellow of the 1851 Royal Commission, and a Junior Research Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford.