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The formula that changed the world

With Tim Harford. Rain and drought in numbers, the formula that changed Wall Street and then the world, and why Conservative MPs used to be taller than their Labour counterparts.

The Long Rain

The numbers behind the drought, the hosepipe ban and how much difference recent rainfall (enough to shrink men's hands into the hands of wrinkled apes) has made.

The Midas Formula

The story of Black-Scholes, the equation that transformed Wall Street - and the arguments over whether it made the world a better place, or helped cause the financial mess we've all been dealing with for the past five years.

Tall Tories

Last week we discovered North Koreans really are shorter than their South Korean counterparts thanks to poor nutrition in the North. This week: are Labour MPs shorter than Conservative parliamentarians?

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Richard Knight.

Available now

24 minutes

Last on

Sun 29 Apr 2012 20:00

Broadcasts

  • Fri 27 Apr 2012 16:30
  • Sun 29 Apr 2012 20:00

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