General News
31 January, 2025
Ambassador Dr Clio Cresswell is ‘bringing sexy back’ to maths
Our Australia Day Ambassador Dr Clio Cresswell gave her address on mathematics, relationships, and what it means to be Australian.
Australia Day Ambassador Clio Cresswell impressed the crowd during her address, highlighting for attendees a number of daily applications of maths.
“I know it’s the perfect time for some mathematics right now,” Dr Cresswell began, “I like to start my speeches with an audience that’s already bored and scared.
“Mathematics is the study of patterns; when you learn to read mathematics, you’re starting to see patterns [and love] already makes for a great example. Because for love, we’ve often turned to poetry or music or dance. Maths is just another way to capture [it], just a little bit different, to help us navigate the world and, in this case, love.”
Dr Cresswell is an expert on mathematics in the field of love, having written a book all about the subject: ‘Mathematics and Sex’ is the exploration of the connection between maths - the study of patterns - and the very personal application of relationships.
“With love, first you’re excited and then you’re scared. Are they going to call? Oh, they ordered the same beer as me, we must be soulmates. That sort of thing. And with these ups and downs, [mathematicians] have used equations – the same that model waves – to see what kind of personalities might end up in a deep compassionate companionship, opposed to ones that are going to be [up and down] forever… some of these models can be as accurate as 95 percent.”
It's not all about the maths, as Dr Cresswell explained. It’s all about humans connecting the best they can to their environment, and to each other. It’s not about mathematics telling you what’s right or wrong, or mathematics arguing with emotion.
“We’re (mathematicians) not fortune-tellers,” as Dr Cresswell put it.
Rather, it’s the same complexity as predicting the weather.
“You use these equations to help give yourself some kind of edge, so that you see things in a different way, or give you some advice. It’s all about humanity, at the end of it,” Dr Cresswell said.
“Life is not about utility, and we know this. Happiness doesn’t come from money or [key performance indicators], it comes from community… it’s family, it’s the warm feeling we get inside, that’s the key to making us happy.
“My mother worked on the Cannes film festival as a secretary, and she found that her wildness was matched by all the Australians she met. She got a sponsorship to go to Australia, I followed and my life changed. I really started finding that I could be free and explore my kooky sides… I discovered mathematics, and I discovered this whole new connection with humanity that I’d never had before.
“[And that’s] what I love about Australia. We’re always questioning what is Australian Identity? Here, every year, we ask what it means to be Australian. What does being Australian mean to me? And I love that, I love that [as Australians] we are open to being dynamic, because that’s what humans have done throughout history.
“For all of us, one way to do that is to connect… for us all to chat about my stupid math stories and I come out and hear all about yours,” Dr Cresswell said.
“Happy Australia Day.”
