Name: Approximations
Start: 2025-10-05T11:00:00+05:30
Location: Prithvi Theatre

It is famously hard to find "exact" answers. So we often settle for approximate ones. But how approximate is still "good"? And how do we get the "best" approximations? In this talk, we will explore some glimpses from the fascinating theory and practice of mathematical approximation: starting from ancient usages in carpentry, land measurement, and observational astronomy, to modern mathematics and machine learning.
About the speaker: Dr. Piyush Srivastava is an Associate Professor at the School of Technology and Computer Science, TIFR. His research interests include applications of probabilistic ideas in computer science. He is also interested in science communcation.