2025-01-03
33 分钟Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet.
I'm producer Mia Sorrenti for this episode.
We're rejoining for part two of our conversation with the mathematician Marcus de Sotoy.
Marcus is professor of Mathematics at Oxford University where he holds the prestigious Simoni Chair for the Public Understanding of Science.
His recent book is around the World in 80 Games.
This is the second part of our two part episode, how to Win Every Game with Marcus de Sotoy.
If you haven't heard part one, do just jump back an episode and get up to speed.
Now it's time to rejoin the conversation recorded recently at the Pleasants Theatre in London.
Here's our host for the Evening, science communicator, Dr.
Shinny Samara.
Let's talk about gender for a second because you, you mention how men and women were sort of different in the way they designed games and the way they play games and you talked about bridge.
What did you discover?
Yes, so I said that Phileas Fogg's game of choice was whist and whist was a very silent game and so it's a trick taking game.
Actually the very early card games that appeared in history probably date back to India and are trick taking games.
But anyone who plays bridge here knows that the bidding round beforehand, which is a very verbal and you know it's a talkative round, you actually use it to tell your partner something about the cards in your hands.
And there are all of these conventions and actually whist had this as well, but it was the way you played cards would indicate something about the cards in your hands to help your partner play.
But there was a feeling like, well, you're wasting a lot of cards being laid down in communicating this information.
Which is why whist grew into the game of bridge.
They said this is quite fun, this communicating.
Some would say maybe you're cheating.