Math Encounters:"Walking in Randomness: prevalence of chance in our daily lives" Jonathan Schachter

Math Encounters: "Walking in Randomness: The prevalence of chance in biology, finance, physics, and our daily lives" featuring Jonathan Schachter Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Chance is everywhere — shaping the cells in your body, modeling the ups and downs of financial markets, and even influencing how long you wait for a text or a job offer. Follow randomness on an unexpected journey: from games like Yahtzee to random walks that helped prove the very existence of atoms and molecules. Along the way, we’ll explore why waiting in line, sitting in traffic, or anxiously refreshing your inbox all have something profound in common. Join astrophysicist and financial engineer Jonathan Schachter of Delta Vega to discover how randomness quietly — but powerfully — shapes the world around you and even impacts the genetic blueprint that makes you uniquely you. Special introduction by Cindy Lawrence, Executive Director and CEO, National Museum of Mathematics. Math Encounters is MoMath’s popular free public presentation series celebrating the spectacular world of mathematics. This program is funded by Simons Foundation International and administered by the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division.