Mendeley is hosting a series of talks designed to bring interesting topics to light and start some productive discussions in our community. The first one we bring you this Friday is about algorithms and the way that these days they impact every area of our lives.

We know something of using algorithms to solve problems around organizing papers and research workflow, as well as providing recommendations for our users. This talk, however, goes even further in asking whether every area of life, from artistic endeavor through to love, can be translated into a number, and whether we can reduce our relationships, our creativity, and what we consider to be our very soul, to a mathematical formula.

Our Speaker, Luke Dormehl, is a technology author who regularly contributes to Wired, Cult of Mac, FastCo and The Guardian/Observer.  His latest book, The Formula, “takes you inside the world of numbers, asking how we came to believe in the all-conquering power of algorithms; introducing the mathematicians, artificial intelligence experts and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are shaping this brave new world, and ultimately asking how we survive in an era where numbers can sometimes seem to create as many problems as they solve.”

The talk and Q&A will be streamed live and you can send in your comments and questions via Twitter using the #Mendeley hashtag. If your question gets read out you can expect to receive some nice Mendeley goodies as thank you! We will also be live tweeting from the @MendeleyTalks account throughout and posting an edited version of the event on our YouTube channel.

Unfortunately we’ve got limited space for our live talk, so it is impossible to invite everyone. However, if you are going to be in London tomorrow, do email alice.bonasio@mendeley.com or reach out on Twitter to @alicebonasio or @MendeleyTalks and we’ll see what we can do.

Hope you can join us, and please let us know what you think in the comments below and on Twitter. And if you have any suggestions for future speakers, do send them along as well!

When? Friday 30^th May at 5:30

Watch the Live Stream of the talk here