“When am I ever going to use this in the real world?” This pervasive question has crossed the mind of almost every child who’s taken a math class. The answer—according to “stand-up mathematician” Matt Parker—is: not nearly enough.

Parker, who is best known for his YouTube channels “Standupmaths” and “Numberphile” uncovers the bizarre ways numbers trip us up and what these blunders reveal about math’s essential place in our world. He explores a litany of glitches, near-misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, and more. Sit in for a humorous exploration of the everyday math that’s closer to our lives than we think.

Matt Parker is the author of Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension as well as a stand-up comedian and YouTuber with over 100 million views. He writes about math for The Guardian, hosts the Science Channel’s Outrageous Acts of Science, and appears regularly on various BBC shows.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle.