[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/lovric-cropped.jpg” caption=”Miroslav Lovric”]Miroslav Lovric wonders why people at parties feel the need to tell him that they hate math, can't do math and suffer from math anxiety once they learn what he does for a living.

The associate professor of mathematics and statistics is perplexed by this attitude, “people rarely feel the need to tell an English teacher they hate English, hate to read and don't really know what the letters T, R or Z mean,” he says.

Lovric's interest in changing this attitude is reflected in his desire to bring math to the public and one of the reasons he's speaking at tomorrow's (March 9) Science in the City lecture series, a public lecture series sponsored jointly by the University and the Hamilton Spectator.

His lecture, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour, will explore infinity, an age-old concept that appears in the oral culture of myths and legends and continues to connect to other disciplines such as religion, art, philosophy and astronomy.

In an interview with the Spectator, Lovric emphasizes that the audience doesn't need a mathematical background, but should expect to be challenged.

“People just need to be inquisitive and open and they'll hear good stuff. We all have basic mathematical intuition but we are afraid to use it. But it's fun, it's possible and it's relevant.”

Lovric will trace the cultural, historical and mathematical background of infinity without resorting to the formulas and mathematical symbols that many seem to dread.

“You can talk about math without talking about math. People will not even know it's there,” he notes.

This Science in the City lecture will take place Tuesday March 9 in the Hamilton Spectator Auditorium, 44 Frid Street in Hamilton. Doors open at 6:30pm and the lecture begins at 7pm. The lecture is free and all are welcome. To reserve your seat e-mail sciencecity@mcmaster.ca or by phone: 905-525-9140, extension 24934.

*** There will be a special Science in the City for Kids this Saturday, March 13 on campus in the John Hodgins Engineering Building Room 376 from 9am to 11:30am. The event will feature the Fireball Show and Fireball 2, McMaster's Solar Car. For more information, visit Science in the City for Kids .***