Browse content similar to 07/02/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Oops. That was an enor, I have acknowledged, for a variety of | 0:00:01 | 0:00:04 | |
reasons, that we shouldn't have embarked on that course, at this | 0:00:04 | 0:00:08 | |
stage. Michael Gove blots his copy book. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:12 | |
We will debate whether his remaining reforms are too much or | 0:00:12 | 0:00:21 | |
not enough. Also tonight: Rock star style, banker's Sally. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:28 | |
Mark Carney steps into the bear pit. We're in Brussels with Mark Urban. | 0:00:28 | 0:00:38 | |
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The number so huge, it has only just been discovered. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:43 | |
There is a list of words issued by Michael Gove's department that ten- | 0:00:43 | 0:00:49 | |
year-olds are supposed to know. Among the words, "awkward ", | 0:00:49 | 0:00:56 | |
"disastrous", "nuisance", "amateur". Would a ten-year-old have spotted | 0:00:56 | 0:01:00 | |
the flaws for an English Baccalaureate, he had plenty of | 0:01:00 | 0:01:08 | |
warnings from grown-ups. But his admission today has thawed things | 0:01:08 | 0:01:11 | |
between him and his department. The question is what is left of the | 0:01:11 | 0:01:18 | |
Gove reforms, and what would a gof- educated child be like. | 0:01:18 | 0:01:22 | |
Gove is a man -- Michael Gove is man with a vision, today he offered | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
a glimpse into the future, his version of a proper education | 0:01:25 | 0:01:30 | |
system. In English, there is more clarity on spelling, punctuation | 0:01:30 | 0:01:34 | |
and grammar. There is a stronger emphasis on arithmetic, and more | 0:01:34 | 0:01:39 | |
demanding in content in fractions, decimals and percentages. In | 0:01:39 | 0:01:43 | |
foreign languages, there will be a new stress on learning proper | 0:01:43 | 0:01:48 | |
grammatical structures and practising translation. In | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
geography there is an emphasis on vocational knowledge. In art and | 0:01:51 | 0:01:55 | |
design, there is a stronger emphasis on painting and drawing | 0:01:55 | 0:02:01 | |
skills. In music, a balance between performance and appreciation. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:06 | |
Mr Gove came to parliament to set out this new curriculum. And to say | 0:02:06 | 0:02:11 | |
he had dropped one controversial policy, there will be no English | 0:02:11 | 0:02:15 | |
Baccalaureate Certificate. The brand-new qualification he had | 0:02:15 | 0:02:19 | |
planned for 16-year-olds. Every minister makes mistake, when I make | 0:02:19 | 0:02:22 | |
mistakes over building schools for the future, I was happy to come to | 0:02:22 | 0:02:27 | |
the House and acknowledge I had made an error. When I make mistakes | 0:02:27 | 0:02:30 | |
in other places I'm happy to acknowledge my error. The very | 0:02:30 | 0:02:35 | |
first thing I said to is I have embarked on one reform too far, in | 0:02:35 | 0:02:39 | |
seeking to move towards single exam boards. I'm happy to acknowledge | 0:02:39 | 0:02:46 | |
today that was an error. Under this Government the words "GCSE" and | 0:02:46 | 0:02:50 | |
"fiasco", seemed to be linked indelibly. This is a humiliating | 0:02:50 | 0:02:53 | |
climb-down. The problem with the Secretary of State is he thinks he | 0:02:53 | 0:02:57 | |
knows the answer to everything. So he digs out the fag packet and | 0:02:57 | 0:03:02 | |
comes up with his latest wheeze. Much has been made of Michael | 0:03:02 | 0:03:08 | |
Gove's U-turn today. But while the GCSE will stay, it will be | 0:03:08 | 0:03:13 | |
comprehensively reformed. And, as planned, pupils will have to start | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
studying in 2015 for these new tests in key subjects. I asked | 0:03:18 | 0:03:21 | |
Michael Gove what was the main difference between what he had | 0:03:21 | 0:03:26 | |
originally intended, and what he announced in the House of Commons. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:29 | |
The most significant change we have made today, from the proposition | 0:03:29 | 0:03:32 | |
that we put forward in September, is the decision not to press ahead | 0:03:32 | 0:03:36 | |
with the single Examination Board in academic subjects. Because, as | 0:03:36 | 0:03:42 | |
the regulator pointed out, moving so rapidly to change the market in | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
exams, alongside improving the content, risked having too many | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
moving parts in the system at the same time. So we will do the most | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
important thing, the thing where there is the greatest degree of | 0:03:51 | 0:03:55 | |
consensus, we will improve the exams. Some school leaders are | 0:03:55 | 0:03:59 | |
worried about the tight timetable. We are disappointed there hasn't | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
been more change. The profession has really been in uproar about the | 0:04:03 | 0:04:09 | |
proposals for the UBC. They haven't been consulted, and the fact that | 0:04:09 | 0:04:15 | |
the timetable remains the same, and we are looking at a 2015 start, | 0:04:15 | 0:04:20 | |
doesn't leave teachers with enough time to prepare young people. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
are changes proposed for the national curriculum, what do you | 0:04:22 | 0:04:24 | |
make of those? The national curriculum is something that keeps | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
changing any way. Schools are used to different versions of the | 0:04:28 | 0:04:31 | |
national curriculum. So whilst it is tight, and we need to have our | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
subject specialists really take a close look at the implications, | 0:04:34 | 0:04:42 | |
because there are some very serious implications. Possibly concerning | 0:04:42 | 0:04:44 | |
implications in terms of the direction of travel with the | 0:04:44 | 0:04:47 | |
national curriculum. But at the same time, we have to have some | 0:04:47 | 0:04:53 | |
confidence in the work of the group that have been widely consulted. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:58 | |
The other major change outlined today is to league tables. Now they | 0:04:58 | 0:05:04 | |
rank schools by how many children get five GCSEs at grades A* to C, | 0:05:04 | 0:05:09 | |
including English and maths. In future they will show how much all | 0:05:09 | 0:05:13 | |
pupils make between 11-16. Many head teachers complained that the | 0:05:13 | 0:05:17 | |
current system forces them to focus on students who are at the border | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
between grade C and grade D. So giving them little incentive to | 0:05:21 | 0:05:25 | |
help the student who is are getting an A, but might be able to get an | 0:05:25 | 0:05:32 | |
A*, and those who are nowhere near a C grade at all. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:36 | |
Some schools already work hard to ensure that children who struggle | 0:05:36 | 0:05:41 | |
with literacy or maths, when they start secondary school, do catch up | 0:05:41 | 0:05:45 | |
quickly. So they can learn along with the rest of their class, but | 0:05:45 | 0:05:49 | |
others don't. This change in the league tables could have a | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
significant impact. I think the changes to the accountability | 0:05:52 | 0:05:59 | |
system are actually a big part of what is new today. Broadly I think | 0:05:59 | 0:06:03 | |
it is welcome. They have made a wider range of measures in there, | 0:06:03 | 0:06:09 | |
they have got rid of the extreme emphasis on the threshold. It is | 0:06:09 | 0:06:17 | |
good. Michael Gove stepped back from one change today, but there is | 0:06:17 | 0:06:21 | |
still GCSE reform, a new national curriculum, and new league tables. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:31 | |
His continuous revolution goes on. Graham Stuart chairs the Commons | 0:06:31 | 0:06:36 | |
Select Committee, Anthony Seldon and the principal of the school on | 0:06:36 | 0:06:42 | |
the Isle of Dogs. And Ed Hirsch, a retired professor of education, who | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
is often cited in Michael Gove's thinking on the national curriculum. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:50 | |
Graham, you are quietly pleased, because you think the Education | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
Secretary has listened to your criticisms and acts. Is that any | 0:06:53 | 0:06:58 | |
way to make education policy? what is the point of having an | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
Education Committee, taking the hearings and doing the work, if | 0:07:01 | 0:07:05 | |
ministers don't listen. We saw in the last Government, to make a | 0:07:05 | 0:07:09 | |
party political point, this sense that you mustn't ever risk being | 0:07:09 | 0:07:14 | |
seen as changing. It is not humiliation it is about acting. We | 0:07:14 | 0:07:19 | |
are seeing change in GCSEs, which we agreed need to happen. We are | 0:07:19 | 0:07:25 | |
seeing a more Hirsch-based, knowledge-based curriculum. We are | 0:07:25 | 0:07:29 | |
seeing a change to the schools, we are seeing a number and most of the | 0:07:29 | 0:07:31 | |
insights the Secretary of State had will be put into practice. They | 0:07:31 | 0:07:36 | |
will be done in a way that will carry much wider support than the | 0:07:36 | 0:07:39 | |
original proposals. Going forward, this Secretary of State, who is a | 0:07:39 | 0:07:43 | |
reforming Secretary of State, has the chance of a long-lasting legacy, | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
rather than something like the diploma, with Ed Balls brought in, | 0:07:47 | 0:07:51 | |
didn't listen to anybody, and ended up not being a long-term success. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:56 | |
Michael Gove says he's a man in a hurry, wasn't the problem with the | 0:07:56 | 0:08:01 | |
Baccalaureate announcement is he's in too much of a hurry? He put out | 0:08:01 | 0:08:03 | |
proposelias, without specific proposals it is hard to comment in | 0:08:03 | 0:08:07 | |
a vacuum. We commented, he listened, put out a report last week, he | 0:08:07 | 0:08:11 | |
accepted most of the arguments in that report, he has listened to the | 0:08:11 | 0:08:14 | |
profession as well. He is moving forward, isn't that the way we want | 0:08:14 | 0:08:18 | |
policy to make. Isn't this the best way to make policy in education? | 0:08:19 | 0:08:24 | |
I'm constantly surs priced by how many head teachers -- surprised by | 0:08:24 | 0:08:28 | |
how many head teachers, I don't know if Kelly is one of those, who | 0:08:28 | 0:08:32 | |
agree with much of what Michael Gove is saying, academies, autonomy | 0:08:32 | 0:08:37 | |
for schools, and the other to the curriculum, in which he's trying to | 0:08:37 | 0:08:41 | |
get much more rigour into the curriculum. He thinks exams have | 0:08:41 | 0:08:45 | |
dumbed down, and he thinks that is actually patronising towards | 0:08:45 | 0:08:49 | |
disadvantaged children. He wants to see them being able to access top | 0:08:49 | 0:08:53 | |
universities and top jobs, by having serious exams taught in | 0:08:53 | 0:08:58 | |
serious ways. But, you can't make changes in politics unless you | 0:08:58 | 0:09:04 | |
carry people. He has goth gone, as Graham has hinted -- gone, as | 0:09:04 | 0:09:07 | |
Graham has hinted, too quickly. If you lose touch with the supply | 0:09:07 | 0:09:11 | |
lines, the people who are willing to back you, you will get nowhere. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:17 | |
Is there anything about his style? Michael Gove hasn't been used to | 0:09:17 | 0:09:19 | |
running organisations. Many ministers haven't, which is why | 0:09:20 | 0:09:25 | |
they often achieve next to nothing as minister. The history of most | 0:09:25 | 0:09:28 | |
education secretaries is one of extraordinary failure, a lot of | 0:09:28 | 0:09:33 | |
activity, a lot of fuss and noise, but signifying little or nothing. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:37 | |
Michael Gove is to be praised, however, for making this U-turn, he | 0:09:37 | 0:09:41 | |
is listening, he is acknowledging, it is quite a big man to stand up | 0:09:41 | 0:09:46 | |
in parliament, and say, look I made a mistake. You are a bit of a | 0:09:46 | 0:09:49 | |
critic of much of what Michael Gove has done. Do you see this, well | 0:09:49 | 0:09:53 | |
what are we callling it, a U-turn, a tweak, whatever the hell it is, | 0:09:53 | 0:09:59 | |
do you see it as a precursor to more change? There will be more | 0:09:59 | 0:10:03 | |
change, and we are used to change in education. I'm glad that Michael | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
Gove did eventually listen. It took the Select Committee, who did a | 0:10:07 | 0:10:11 | |
brilliant ror, to make him change it. Head teachers have been, since | 0:10:11 | 0:10:16 | |
this first came out, have been telling Michael Gove, he has not | 0:10:16 | 0:10:20 | |
been listening. 2,000 people signed a petition. I spent 30 hours | 0:10:20 | 0:10:26 | |
answering a ridiculous consultation. He hasn't listened. He has had to | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
now listen to the Select Committee. I'm glad. I would like a bit of | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
humility. Where he has gone wrong is not listening to the profession. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:37 | |
All we want to do is to be involved and listened to, and to be | 0:10:37 | 0:10:41 | |
respected. But to be saying, I'm sorry, that GCSEs are rubbish and | 0:10:41 | 0:10:44 | |
they are not worth anything is an insult to all the young people out | 0:10:44 | 0:10:48 | |
there who are working really hard to get their GCSEs, teach anything | 0:10:48 | 0:10:52 | |
our skooms has never, ever been so good -- schools has never, ever | 0:10:52 | 0:10:56 | |
been so good. I would like that to be acknowledged. If Michael Gove | 0:10:56 | 0:10:59 | |
want things to change he has to bring us with us. At the moment I | 0:10:59 | 0:11:05 | |
haven't met anybody in the independent sector n Instagramer | 0:11:05 | 0:11:11 | |
schools, and in academies and primary schools, who would be glad | 0:11:11 | 0:11:21 | |
0:11:21 | 0:11:22 | ||
if the GCSE went. Let's go to Ed Hirsch, people have been saying | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
nice things about you, including Michael Gove likes you, do you like | 0:11:25 | 0:11:30 | |
what he's doing? I'm extremely gratified to be cited by the | 0:11:30 | 0:11:36 | |
secretary of education, sitting here in charlottesville in my | 0:11:36 | 0:11:42 | |
retirement, and suddenly find some of my work being used to help | 0:11:43 | 0:11:47 | |
education in Britain. I hope it is helping, or will help education in | 0:11:47 | 0:11:54 | |
Britain. What is it about core learning, your central ten knit, | 0:11:54 | 0:12:00 | |
what is that and how -- tenet, what is that and how does it benefit | 0:12:00 | 0:12:03 | |
pupils? What instigated my work to start with, was schools were not | 0:12:03 | 0:12:07 | |
succeeding in narrowing the gap between advantaged and | 0:12:07 | 0:12:12 | |
disadvantaged children. So, in fact, often students, and the data says | 0:12:12 | 0:12:16 | |
that the same sort of thing is happening in Britain, is students | 0:12:17 | 0:12:21 | |
who started behind, end up either just as far behind, or further | 0:12:21 | 0:12:25 | |
behind, than when they started out in school. So the schools haven't | 0:12:25 | 0:12:29 | |
been narrowing the achievement gap very well in the United States. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:38 | |
That of the main impulse behind my attention to content, to the | 0:12:38 | 0:12:41 | |
specific content of the curriculum. Because it was lack of knowledge, | 0:12:41 | 0:12:46 | |
in the end, that was holding these disadvantaged children back. And Mr | 0:12:46 | 0:12:52 | |
Gove in this country, and his new national curriculum focuses on | 0:12:52 | 0:12:55 | |
spelling, grammar and arithmetic, getting children to identify cities | 0:12:55 | 0:12:59 | |
and rivers on map, and study the great works of the literary canon, | 0:12:59 | 0:13:04 | |
that makes you smile, look at you? Yes it does. I have to say, you | 0:13:04 | 0:13:11 | |
know, I'm quite ignorant of exactly what's going on over in Britain. So | 0:13:11 | 0:13:19 | |
I'm ready to be informed. But the basic structure of what the schools | 0:13:19 | 0:13:23 | |
believe and what the schools have been doing seems to me to be very | 0:13:24 | 0:13:29 | |
similar, in the United States. The ideas behind what we have been | 0:13:29 | 0:13:33 | |
doing and what you have been doing, I think, and your teacher training | 0:13:33 | 0:13:38 | |
institutions, the ideas are very similar. Thank you for that. Graham | 0:13:38 | 0:13:47 | |
Stuart, there is a lot left of the Gore agenda, what shines and what | 0:13:47 | 0:13:51 | |
doesn't work? What shines and doesn't work. I would say what I | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
particularly welcome today is the review of the school accountability. | 0:13:54 | 0:14:04 | |
0:14:04 | 0:14:08 | ||
This issue around the CDC-D borderline, -- borderline the kids | 0:14:08 | 0:14:12 | |
who are there. What is it that you are struggling with, and keeps you | 0:14:12 | 0:14:17 | |
awake, at the moment it is five A- Cs in English and maths. Apart from | 0:14:17 | 0:14:22 | |
Mr Gove. We saw last year with the English GCSE problems just how | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
driven the system is by accountability. What we want to see | 0:14:24 | 0:14:28 | |
is every child, whether they are of low academic ability, or brilliant, | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
pushed and the best got out of them. At the moment there is an incentive | 0:14:32 | 0:14:37 | |
not to do that. That is the goal, does this idea achieve that? Well, | 0:14:37 | 0:14:42 | |
I think that the ideas of Professor Hirsch are absolutely right. We | 0:14:42 | 0:14:46 | |
must have a really strong content, but where Michael Gove has got it | 0:14:46 | 0:14:51 | |
wrong is in failing to recognise that you can have real rigour in | 0:14:51 | 0:14:56 | |
the arts subjects, in economics and a whole range of subjects that | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
employers want, and which turn kids on. But also, you know, it is not | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
about thumping kids with this knowledge in a grinding boring way, | 0:15:04 | 0:15:08 | |
that just turns kids off. We need to have active learning, where the | 0:15:08 | 0:15:12 | |
kids are actively involved in discovering these insights of | 0:15:12 | 0:15:16 | |
knowledge, rather than just rope learning, which is such a failure | 0:15:16 | 0:15:21 | |
of the last Government, which is the incredibly pedestrian exams. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
Why the middle years of the international Baccalaureate is much | 0:15:24 | 0:15:29 | |
better than the GCSE, is the exams encourage radical ideas here, | 0:15:29 | 0:15:33 | |
students to think in the exam, rather than memorise. I know, it is | 0:15:33 | 0:15:37 | |
revolutionary, and dangerous. just want to get a word from you, | 0:15:37 | 0:15:41 | |
Kelly, what of the remaining Gove agenda, there is still a lot of it. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:46 | |
What would you still change? What I want is for him to talk to the | 0:15:46 | 0:15:50 | |
profession. In whatever it is he's doing, it is not necessarily | 0:15:50 | 0:15:52 | |
accountability, we have never been so accountable. You don't think he | 0:15:52 | 0:15:57 | |
will listen more now? He doesn't listen at all to us. He has very | 0:15:57 | 0:16:02 | |
little regard for teachers and head teachers alike, it seems. I'm not | 0:16:02 | 0:16:06 | |
the only one. I want him to listen to the profession, we are happy to | 0:16:06 | 0:16:08 | |
work with him. Give us the opportunity, we will work with him | 0:16:08 | 0:16:13 | |
and help to develop and strengthen GCSEs. What happened with the EBCs | 0:16:13 | 0:16:18 | |
is we started with the exam, and there was no curriculum, EBCs have | 0:16:18 | 0:16:20 | |
never existed. You start with getting the curriculum right, and | 0:16:20 | 0:16:24 | |
then you look at the exam system, and then you look at the | 0:16:24 | 0:16:30 | |
accountability. You do it properly. She's right, there is an archetypal | 0:16:30 | 0:16:34 | |
Conservative minister of education that thinks all comprehensive heads | 0:16:34 | 0:16:38 | |
are left-wing nuts, they don't care about their kids or real learning. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:41 | |
Frankly we need people like this in the Department of Education, | 0:16:41 | 0:16:44 | |
alongside Michael Gove, a lot better than some of the advisers, | 0:16:44 | 0:16:48 | |
and there will be real sense and it will work and carry the country, | 0:16:48 | 0:16:51 | |
because it will carry the heads and the teachers. These are serious | 0:16:51 | 0:16:55 | |
people, they are not to be belittled as not interested in | 0:16:55 | 0:17:00 | |
serious learning. Thank you all very much indeed. | 0:17:00 | 0:17:05 | |
Still ahead on Newsnight: EU leaders knuckle down to the big | 0:17:05 | 0:17:10 | |
issues. We will ask the man who found the biggest prime number | 0:17:10 | 0:17:20 | |
0:17:20 | 0:17:30 | ||
The next Governor of the Bank of England will be a Canadian. The | 0:17:30 | 0:17:34 | |
last time a Canadian had that much influence over all of our lives was | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
when Michael Ignatieff was never off the television. Mark Carney | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
will lead more than a nice line in transatlantic witticisms to keep | 0:17:41 | 0:17:45 | |
people happy. There are a bunch of people who want him to be just like | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
Mervyn King, and another bunch who are hoping for something completely | 0:17:48 | 0:17:56 | |
different. Today we got some hints into who he might please. | 0:17:56 | 0:18:03 | |
He was compared to an Emperor, a Sun King, a saviour and a superhero. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:08 | |
But today Mark Carney was more like a rock star. Arriving late, and | 0:18:08 | 0:18:16 | |
hoping to get Britain back in the black. | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
Never before has a Central Banker's arrival been more akin to a major | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
concert. With MPs on the Treasury Select Committee more like groupies, | 0:18:23 | 0:18:29 | |
complaining about the ticket price for the gig. Your current pay in | 0:18:29 | 0:18:33 | |
sterling terms is around, total remuneration is around a third of a | 0:18:33 | 0:18:38 | |
million pounds, isn't that right? Yes. Your total remuneration will | 0:18:38 | 0:18:47 | |
be in excess of �800,000? Yes. your new job, correct? Yes. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:51 | |
That salary was supposedly hagled in a grubby office block in south | 0:18:51 | 0:18:55 | |
London, or a Treasury safe house. So no-one could get wind that he | 0:18:55 | 0:18:58 | |
was even being interviewed for a job that will be almost as powerful | 0:18:58 | 0:19:01 | |
as the Chancellor's. Having got his man, George Osborne's political | 0:19:01 | 0:19:07 | |
fate is now wedded to the success or failure of the man from Alberta. | 0:19:07 | 0:19:11 | |
And the bank's Monetary Policy Committee may not play ball with | 0:19:11 | 0:19:20 | |
its new boss, either. It is hard to see that an MP that may not go | 0:19:20 | 0:19:23 | |
along with what he wants, that he will be able to transform things | 0:19:23 | 0:19:27 | |
that quickly. And the press that built him up could suddenly turn on | 0:19:27 | 0:19:31 | |
him if the economy doesn't pick up. They are wedded together, but this | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
really depends on this economy turning round quickly. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
Today, near the palace of Westminster, some MPs wanted to see | 0:19:38 | 0:19:43 | |
if they were going to get value for money, with a mini-pop quiz on | 0:19:43 | 0:19:48 | |
Central Banking. What is the capital ratio? How would you | 0:19:48 | 0:19:53 | |
describe unwinding QE? What's the liquidity requirement? | 0:19:53 | 0:19:58 | |
liquidity requirement is the need for a bank to have...I Think that's | 0:19:58 | 0:20:04 | |
all I have on that one. I think you scored pretty well there! And the | 0:20:04 | 0:20:09 | |
mania was also felt in the markets, check out the Carney curve, as | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
sterling spiked up against the US dollar when the Canadian started | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
speaking. So, as he was doubtless asked in the Treasury safe house | 0:20:16 | 0:20:20 | |
last year, what does he intend to do with his new toy, the British | 0:20:20 | 0:20:23 | |
economy? What, for example, did he feel about the effectiveness of | 0:20:23 | 0:20:29 | |
quanative easing, now that �375 billion in new money had been | 0:20:29 | 0:20:36 | |
printed? The work that we have done at the Bank of Canada suggests that | 0:20:36 | 0:20:44 | |
the returns to QE have declined. Particularly in the United States. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
As the scale of the programme has increased. That is banker talk for | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
QE probably can't help the economy much further. Mr Carney also hinted | 0:20:52 | 0:20:56 | |
that when he becomes governor, he might preannounce that interest | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
rates aren't moving anywhere for a set period of time. That helps | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
companies and consumers when they are borrowing money. They can plan | 0:21:02 | 0:21:08 | |
with a fixed repayment in mind for two or three years. There will be | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
political problems, savers, for example, and pensioners, will know | 0:21:11 | 0:21:14 | |
that they have got nothing to gain from this policy, that they are | 0:21:14 | 0:21:18 | |
very low yields and pensions will stay that way for many years to | 0:21:18 | 0:21:22 | |
come. At the moment there is hope for them, they might think that the | 0:21:22 | 0:21:26 | |
monetary poly -- policy will change and help them. Under the new regime | 0:21:26 | 0:21:31 | |
they might be more likely to complain. The issue of inflation | 0:21:31 | 0:21:36 | |
targeting, I will let the bank much Canada itself explain the current | 0:21:36 | 0:21:39 | |
policy both here and over there. Low, stable and predictable | 0:21:39 | 0:21:43 | |
inflation is the goal. The Government of Canada, and the Bank | 0:21:43 | 0:21:47 | |
of Canada, have a joint agreement to aim for an annual inflation rate | 0:21:47 | 0:21:51 | |
of 2%. Mr Carney said that while he was still a fan of the current way | 0:21:51 | 0:21:55 | |
interest rates are set, there might be room for some more plexability, | 0:21:55 | 0:21:59 | |
and he's far from con-- flexibility, and he's far from convinced that | 0:22:00 | 0:22:04 | |
using other targets, including nominal GDP would work over here. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
Never in the history of Central Banking has so much faith been | 0:22:08 | 0:22:12 | |
invested in someone paid so much, to achieve an economic miracle in | 0:22:12 | 0:22:18 | |
such a short time frame. If rock star Carney performs to his | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
potential, there will be doubtless screaming out for more in five | 0:22:21 | 0:22:27 | |
years. Underperform and his escape philosophy will break all records. | 0:22:27 | 0:22:33 | |
Philipp Hildebrand of chairman of the Swiss national bank, he's now | 0:22:33 | 0:22:37 | |
vice-chairman of the investment company, Black Rock, and best of | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
all, he knows Mark Carney. What's he like? He is a passionate man and | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
cares deeply about what he does and does it with a great amount of | 0:22:44 | 0:22:47 | |
engovernment as the British people saw this morning, he's highly | 0:22:48 | 0:22:52 | |
competent for this very complex job that that's awaiting him. I want to | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
come on to quite what he said and maybe what it meant. But you know | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
him personally and privately what should we know about had him, what | 0:22:58 | 0:23:03 | |
does he do behind the scenes, he runs doesn't he? This is man who | 0:23:03 | 0:23:09 | |
run at 6.00am at minus 25 degrees in Ottawa. That should give some | 0:23:09 | 0:23:16 | |
reassurance to the British people. Of what? Of stamina. I can tell you | 0:23:16 | 0:23:21 | |
stamina is a very important part of the job description or what is | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
required to do this job. This would be the moment, if he has intimated | 0:23:24 | 0:23:29 | |
to you privately what his big plan is, this would be the moment to | 0:23:29 | 0:23:33 | |
tell us? If he had you can be sure he would have had plenty of | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
opportunity to tell the British people and the British public this | 0:23:36 | 0:23:39 | |
morning. That is the thing, we are having to try to read between the | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
lines. Maybe it is inevitable he wasn't going to spill the beans | 0:23:42 | 0:23:45 | |
today. There is several months before he takes over. What did you | 0:23:45 | 0:23:51 | |
take from what he did say? I think what I actually attended to and | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
listened in preparation for this evening, I take away three things, | 0:23:54 | 0:23:59 | |
really. Number one, clearly he is highly qualified, as you could all | 0:23:59 | 0:24:06 | |
see. And secondly, very importantly, he cares passionately about price | 0:24:06 | 0:24:10 | |
stability, for example inflation being low, below 2% in line with | 0:24:10 | 0:24:14 | |
the mandate here. Thirdly, as he indicated, there are a number of | 0:24:14 | 0:24:19 | |
ways to get to that low inflation rate, and I think he will explore | 0:24:19 | 0:24:23 | |
the one that brings the best result on the economy and helps the most | 0:24:23 | 0:24:29 | |
to get this economy back on track. He's clearly prepared, ready and | 0:24:29 | 0:24:32 | |
courageous enough to explore these various opportunities. Is he a | 0:24:32 | 0:24:37 | |
consensus kind of guy, you talked a lot about -- he talked a lot about | 0:24:37 | 0:24:41 | |
consensus today? I have worked with the governor for ten years as a | 0:24:41 | 0:24:46 | |
public servant in various committees and committee settings, | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
he is somebody, he's a leader, I think that's important to know for | 0:24:49 | 0:24:55 | |
those who will work with him, he's a loader who will build consensus | 0:24:55 | 0:25:00 | |
and then move forward. Will he stand up to politicians if George | 0:25:00 | 0:25:03 | |
Osborne, or some other Chancellor says things he doesn't like. Will | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
he tell the Chancellor to get lost? It is important to remember this is | 0:25:07 | 0:25:10 | |
a man who has had a lot of experience in the public sector, he | 0:25:10 | 0:25:14 | |
has been in the finance ministry, he has now been governor for a | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
number of years. He is used to the tension that can arise between | 0:25:18 | 0:25:22 | |
Governments and central banks, and I have no doubt that when | 0:25:22 | 0:25:26 | |
appropriate, he will stand up. But at the same time he will do this in | 0:25:26 | 0:25:30 | |
a pragmatic way, and not make a fetish out of being independent, | 0:25:30 | 0:25:34 | |
just for the sake of being independent. He will be one of the | 0:25:34 | 0:25:38 | |
most powerful unelected people in the UK, Central Bankers tend to be | 0:25:38 | 0:25:43 | |
pretty powerful, don't they, do you think they are too powerful? Did | 0:25:43 | 0:25:46 | |
you think that when you were running the bank? First of all, it | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
is important to remember that he has a committee. He will have a | 0:25:49 | 0:25:52 | |
committee at the Bank of England, so this is not a, he can't take | 0:25:52 | 0:25:55 | |
personal decisions, so he will have to work with the committee. That is | 0:25:55 | 0:25:59 | |
the way it is designed for good reasons. And secondly, I think, it | 0:26:00 | 0:26:03 | |
is in the nature of Central Banking, that particularly at times of | 0:26:03 | 0:26:08 | |
crisis, the Central Bank tends to be the final backstop for a lot of | 0:26:08 | 0:26:10 | |
difficult decision. That is when people realise, typically, that | 0:26:11 | 0:26:14 | |
there is a lot of power in there. But I have always thought of it, | 0:26:15 | 0:26:20 | |
not so much as power, but rather that is the ability and having the | 0:26:20 | 0:26:24 | |
tools to make a difference in very difficult times. Mark Carney says | 0:26:24 | 0:26:29 | |
the role of monetary policy is to make sure economic growth rates | 0:26:29 | 0:26:33 | |
reach escape velocity, what does that mean? This economy has now | 0:26:33 | 0:26:38 | |
essentially had no growth for the last two years. So the exit out of | 0:26:38 | 0:26:42 | |
this terrible financial crisis has been very difficult. It is not | 0:26:42 | 0:26:46 | |
entirely surprising, given the enormous size and weight of the | 0:26:46 | 0:26:50 | |
financial sector, which has been the root of this crisis, really. It | 0:26:50 | 0:26:53 | |
would take longer in this country than perhaps in other countries. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:59 | |
What he means is that you need to have the policy input that will | 0:26:59 | 0:27:04 | |
allow finally for growth to escape out of this low growth environment, | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
and create prosperity and sustainable growth again. Do you | 0:27:07 | 0:27:11 | |
think accountability and openness with him will extend to letting us | 0:27:11 | 0:27:16 | |
know if there is going to be, for example, a sustained period of low | 0:27:16 | 0:27:20 | |
interest rates, letting the public in on that? I think the fact is we | 0:27:20 | 0:27:25 | |
don't know. The very essence of Central Banking, or of economic | 0:27:25 | 0:27:30 | |
policy making, generally, is uncertainty. He made that very | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
clear today, that he doesn't even know what the economy will look | 0:27:32 | 0:27:36 | |
like five months from now when he arrives here in London. There is | 0:27:36 | 0:27:39 | |
great uncertainty. But at the same time, it certainly looks like we | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
will have low interest rates, for quite some time, not just in this | 0:27:42 | 0:27:44 | |
country, but in many other countries as well. That has been | 0:27:44 | 0:27:49 | |
one of the features of this crisis, and is partly a result of the | 0:27:49 | 0:27:52 | |
policy response that we have seen all over the world. When you look | 0:27:52 | 0:27:57 | |
at the state of the UK economy, what do you do, do you shake your | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
head? So I'm a visitor here, I have lived ten years here before, I'm | 0:28:01 | 0:28:05 | |
now back for a second time, it is a wonderful country. That is why you | 0:28:05 | 0:28:08 | |
are our man to ask? It is very important for the British people to | 0:28:08 | 0:28:11 | |
have some confidence. This is a great country, this is a country | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
that historically has been an extraordinarily resilient country. | 0:28:14 | 0:28:20 | |
What about now? I have no doubt this resilience will eventually | 0:28:20 | 0:28:24 | |
lead the way out of this terrible period. We have to accept that at | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
the root of of this crisis was the financial sector, which is very | 0:28:27 | 0:28:30 | |
important in this country. So it will take time. It is going to take | 0:28:30 | 0:28:35 | |
some patience. Thank you very much. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:40 | |
Do you remember last November when EU leaders put off until another | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
summit a decision on how much Europe should spend? Well, it's | 0:28:44 | 0:28:50 | |
here, and Mark Urban is there. How is it going Mark? | 0:28:50 | 0:28:54 | |
Well, the leaders arrived here in such an uncompromising mood, that | 0:28:54 | 0:28:58 | |
the people trying to choreograph the talks, to get them into | 0:28:58 | 0:29:04 | |
agreement, had to start this summit nearly six hours late. As it stand, | 0:29:04 | 0:29:08 | |
Herman van Rompuy, the point man in trying to gain agreement, still | 0:29:08 | 0:29:12 | |
hasn't tabled his compromise proposal. So concerned is he about | 0:29:12 | 0:29:16 | |
the distance that still separate the different parties and the fact | 0:29:16 | 0:29:19 | |
that someone might veto his proposal as soon as he tables it. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:23 | |
So they could be talking well into the night. The fascinating thing is | 0:29:23 | 0:29:28 | |
the way that the countries seem to be lining up, and that it is along | 0:29:28 | 0:29:38 | |
0:29:38 | 0:29:38 | ||
the lines of an ancient fault lion that can still be seen at play. | 0:29:38 | 0:29:42 | |
-- fault line that can still be seen at play. | 0:29:42 | 0:29:45 | |
Centuries ago Europe was sharply divided by religion. | 0:29:46 | 0:29:49 | |
And the Protestant northerners considered themselves more | 0:29:49 | 0:29:53 | |
righteous, clearer thinking, than those who retained their faith in | 0:29:53 | 0:30:01 | |
the old doctrines of the Catholic Church. With today's budget | 0:30:01 | 0:30:06 | |
deadlock, there are curious echos of that. From Germany, to the | 0:30:06 | 0:30:12 | |
netherland, Sweden or the UK. There is a desire for cuts, pulling the | 0:30:12 | 0:30:17 | |
plug on the union's traditional preservation schemes. I don't want | 0:30:17 | 0:30:21 | |
to labour the religious analogy, but there is one interesting point | 0:30:21 | 0:30:25 | |
of comparison. Today, assent trees ago, the northern nations demand | 0:30:25 | 0:30:29 | |
reformation. It is as if they can't stand bureaucracy, waste, and by | 0:30:29 | 0:30:39 | |
0:30:39 | 0:30:40 | ||
implication, hand-outs. As he arrived for today's meeting I asked | 0:30:40 | 0:30:43 | |
Sweden's Prime Minister whether there were political risks in a | 0:30:43 | 0:30:46 | |
division of north and south. For a long time now, a lot of problems in | 0:30:47 | 0:30:49 | |
southern Europe, they need to increase their competitiveness. | 0:30:49 | 0:30:57 | |
They have a lot of tough reforms, a lot of their people are tired of | 0:30:57 | 0:31:01 | |
all of these austerity measures. At the same time, in northern Europe | 0:31:01 | 0:31:10 | |
we have a more competitive economy. Then, of course, we need to take | 0:31:10 | 0:31:14 | |
care of the European Union itself will increase the competitiveness | 0:31:14 | 0:31:19 | |
of Europe as a whole. It is clear, now, that the northern block is | 0:31:19 | 0:31:23 | |
happy to promote itself as such. For soon after he appeared, David | 0:31:23 | 0:31:27 | |
Cameron came to call upon the Swedish Prime Minister, followed by | 0:31:27 | 0:31:34 | |
the leader of the netherlands and Denmark, they held a meeting to co- | 0:31:34 | 0:31:38 | |
ordinate their position, vowing to hold firm for firming cuts in the | 0:31:38 | 0:31:44 | |
EU one trillion euro plan for the next seven years. But where was | 0:31:44 | 0:31:48 | |
Europe's lynch pin in this. Chancellor Angela Merkel stayed | 0:31:48 | 0:31:55 | |
away from the meeting, despite sharing many of the northern state | 0:31:55 | 0:31:59 | |
estimates' views, perhaps acknowledging the danger of | 0:31:59 | 0:32:02 | |
polarisation. TRANSLATION: We are coming together today and tomorrow | 0:32:02 | 0:32:07 | |
in a new attempt to agree a financial plan for the European | 0:32:07 | 0:32:11 | |
Council, which will be put to parliament. Whether it will be | 0:32:11 | 0:32:17 | |
successful, we cannot say. Those in the other corner, including Italy, | 0:32:17 | 0:32:21 | |
Spain and France, emphasise solidarity, and the need to spend | 0:32:21 | 0:32:27 | |
in order to grow out of recession. They decry what seems to be debate | 0:32:27 | 0:32:32 | |
in which some characterise the Mediterranean countries as idle. | 0:32:32 | 0:32:36 | |
It is true that there is some countries that have borrowed beyond | 0:32:36 | 0:32:41 | |
their capability to pay back, there is also countries and institutions | 0:32:41 | 0:32:44 | |
that have lent without the sufficient credit analysis that | 0:32:44 | 0:32:49 | |
they should have done at the time. And they lent to lose. That cycle | 0:32:49 | 0:32:56 | |
is reinforced by both sides of the situation. We should put it into a | 0:32:56 | 0:32:59 | |
moral context, it is not that there is good people or bad people. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:03 | |
lazy and hard working? Or lazy versus hard working people. What | 0:33:03 | 0:33:07 | |
was clear is as the leaders assembled for talks tonight is that | 0:33:07 | 0:33:12 | |
gaps of perception, as well as bugetry figure, remain large. | 0:33:12 | 0:33:16 | |
Compromise is essential, since the leaders failed to agree at the last | 0:33:16 | 0:33:20 | |
summit. And Ireland, now holding the EU presidency, is struggling to | 0:33:20 | 0:33:25 | |
achieve it, all too aware that voices off may regard this | 0:33:25 | 0:33:29 | |
torturous negotiating process as a sign of deeper dysfunction. It is | 0:33:29 | 0:33:34 | |
not an ideal process, that is for sure. I think if you were starting | 0:33:34 | 0:33:38 | |
from scratch you would probably devise a better way to come up with | 0:33:38 | 0:33:43 | |
the budget. It is a legacy and it is a process that has evolved over | 0:33:43 | 0:33:49 | |
many decades at this stage. It is not perfect, but from our point of | 0:33:49 | 0:33:53 | |
view the EU budget adds value. When we look at the EU budget, like a | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
national budget, you know, we have to spend better, we have to be | 0:33:56 | 0:34:01 | |
smarter in terms of how we invest our euros, and at EU level that is | 0:34:01 | 0:34:04 | |
particularly important when you are talking about transnational | 0:34:04 | 0:34:07 | |
projects, when you are talking about the connecting Europe | 0:34:07 | 0:34:09 | |
facility, for example, when you are talking about research and | 0:34:09 | 0:34:12 | |
development, when you are talking about those types of investments. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:17 | |
We have to be smart, we have to be future orientated, and we have to | 0:34:17 | 0:34:22 | |
be careful with tax-payers' money. Britain is sitting comfortably | 0:34:22 | 0:34:26 | |
among the budget hawks. It is not isolated, as so often here. But the | 0:34:26 | 0:34:30 | |
question for the Swedes or others is whether they will also line up | 0:34:30 | 0:34:35 | |
with Britain on the big picture of getting a new deal in Europe. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:39 | |
listen to the UK, and David Cameron, and let's say it is a good thing | 0:34:39 | 0:34:44 | |
that he is taking an initiative that can enable the UK to stay | 0:34:44 | 0:34:47 | |
inside the European Union, because that is an absolute value for | 0:34:47 | 0:34:55 | |
Sweden. It is an important ally for Sweden and for Europe. So I will be | 0:34:55 | 0:34:59 | |
pragmatic and listen to David Cameron. But, it is a tough thing | 0:34:59 | 0:35:04 | |
to say that you should renegotiate a lot of the substantial parts of | 0:35:04 | 0:35:09 | |
the European Union that are already in place. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:14 | |
Europe is too secular, too modern these days to default to the old | 0:35:14 | 0:35:19 | |
religious division. But they do appear still to inform its culture, | 0:35:19 | 0:35:23 | |
and some of its stereotypes. Under the pressure of economic stagnation, | 0:35:23 | 0:35:30 | |
the differences between Europe's north and south may now intensify. | 0:35:30 | 0:35:36 | |
With those differences, will Mr Hollande be the key? Sorry, I | 0:35:36 | 0:35:40 | |
didn't catch your question. Will there Mr Hollande be the key to | 0:35:40 | 0:35:47 | |
solving these differences between north and south? Well, he, of | 0:35:47 | 0:35:51 | |
course, is a key protaganist in this. He has vowed to defend the | 0:35:52 | 0:35:54 | |
principle of solidarity, as he calls t which is redistribution | 0:35:54 | 0:35:59 | |
from the richer to the poorer regions of Europe. People say that | 0:35:59 | 0:36:05 | |
he and Mr Cameron arrived in much more difficult or intransigent | 0:36:05 | 0:36:09 | |
moods, threaten to go veto any proposals, than was expected. So a | 0:36:09 | 0:36:14 | |
meeting that we had been expecting, in which Angela Merkel was going to | 0:36:14 | 0:36:17 | |
sit with the two men and mediate a solution, did not happen. Mr | 0:36:17 | 0:36:21 | |
Hollande did not come to that meeting, David Cameron did. Now | 0:36:21 | 0:36:24 | |
there are all sorts of possible explanations for this, it was a | 0:36:24 | 0:36:28 | |
diary problem, as he co-ordinated with some of the others, President | 0:36:28 | 0:36:32 | |
Hollande, through to the differences were still too grait | 0:36:32 | 0:36:36 | |
great, and the Germans themselves - - great, and the Germans themselves | 0:36:36 | 0:36:41 | |
felt maybe it would do harm to air them in that forum why. One person | 0:36:41 | 0:36:44 | |
on the inside of these talks tonight, told me that Mr Hollande | 0:36:44 | 0:36:47 | |
seems to have come to the conclusion, that the defence of the | 0:36:47 | 0:36:50 | |
principle that is he feels Europe is built on, for example against | 0:36:50 | 0:36:53 | |
David Cameron's agenda, set out in his recent speech, on renegotiation, | 0:36:53 | 0:36:57 | |
starts here. Should we expect decisions at this | 0:36:57 | 0:37:04 | |
summit, or just another summit? Well, you know, the issues have | 0:37:04 | 0:37:07 | |
become largely symbolic in this, I think. The negotiating box, which | 0:37:07 | 0:37:12 | |
the two sides are arguing about, on the spending, should not be that | 0:37:12 | 0:37:15 | |
hard to bridge. That is why many people before this said there | 0:37:15 | 0:37:19 | |
should be agreement. But then there is the whole question of to what | 0:37:19 | 0:37:23 | |
degree the European Parliament will sign off on what the leaders agree. | 0:37:23 | 0:37:28 | |
So, will it come to an agreement, very hard to say. If it does, will | 0:37:28 | 0:37:33 | |
it then go through the parliament? This could be a prolonged crisis. | 0:37:33 | 0:37:39 | |
Thank you. Before the end of the programme, we | 0:37:39 | 0:37:43 | |
will look at tomorrow's front pages before your eyes. Before then a | 0:37:43 | 0:37:48 | |
light up in your at particulars. You should at least be impressed by | 0:37:48 | 0:37:53 | |
the fact the largest known prime number has been discovered. Prime | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
numbers can only be divided by themselves, and one. And there is | 0:37:56 | 0:38:00 | |
an infinite number of them, which means mathematitions, like | 0:38:00 | 0:38:07 | |
undertakers, will always have a job. The huge number was generated by a | 0:38:07 | 0:38:17 | |
0:38:17 | 0:38:20 | ||
computer, and contains 17 million digits, best expresses as 2 raised | 0:38:21 | 0:38:25 | |
to a very large number. It was started by a 17th century | 0:38:25 | 0:38:29 | |
French monk, he created a form he believed would help identify big | 0:38:29 | 0:38:33 | |
crimes. This week's find is only the 48th Mersenne prime to be | 0:38:33 | 0:38:39 | |
confirmed, and relied on complicated computer all georhythms. | 0:38:39 | 0:38:46 | |
It shattered the previous biggest discovered four years a with only | 0:38:46 | 0:38:52 | |
13 million digits, losers! Each number is eligible for the Great | 0:38:52 | 0:38:59 | |
Successor, or GIMP SFOR short. It hopes there will be the discovery | 0:38:59 | 0:39:04 | |
of a prime number containing one million digits, which would make it | 0:39:04 | 0:39:14 | |
0:39:14 | 0:39:16 | ||
twice the size of Wales. Dr Curtis Cooper from the | 0:39:16 | 0:39:20 | |
University of Central Missouri led the search for the big prime number. | 0:39:20 | 0:39:24 | |
Congratulations. Can you remember the first time that you were aware | 0:39:24 | 0:39:30 | |
of prime numbers? Not really. I have been interested in mathematics | 0:39:30 | 0:39:35 | |
since high school, but, and in prime numbers and number theory, | 0:39:35 | 0:39:38 | |
that has always been a big interest of mine. I can't remember the first | 0:39:38 | 0:39:43 | |
time. You can't remember how you got on to the big prime numbers | 0:39:43 | 0:39:51 | |
game. How did that start? OK, there was a George Waltman is the founder | 0:39:51 | 0:39:58 | |
of this GIMPS project. He started it in 1996, a student of mine in | 0:39:58 | 0:40:03 | |
1997, informed me about the project. He said to me there is a lot of | 0:40:03 | 0:40:06 | |
computers here at the University of Central Missouri, maybe you can | 0:40:06 | 0:40:09 | |
harness those and participate in the project. So that was kind of | 0:40:09 | 0:40:15 | |
the seed that got us going. have held the record for the | 0:40:15 | 0:40:19 | |
biggest prime number before, what is it you are doing that other | 0:40:19 | 0:40:27 | |
people aren't? I don't know, exactly. Oh come on, don't be | 0:40:27 | 0:40:33 | |
modest? We have been lucky, for sure. But I have a lot of support | 0:40:33 | 0:40:36 | |
from our university, the administration, the technology | 0:40:36 | 0:40:40 | |
information, information tknolg departments have really helped -- | 0:40:40 | 0:40:43 | |
technology departments have really helped. We have a lot of computers | 0:40:43 | 0:40:47 | |
on our campus. We have got 1,000 that are working on the project | 0:40:47 | 0:40:54 | |
right now. As we have had success, it has kind of team rolled, and so | 0:40:54 | 0:41:00 | |
the administration and -- steam rolled, so the administration and | 0:41:00 | 0:41:05 | |
services will say they have let me be administrator on the project on | 0:41:05 | 0:41:09 | |
computers, and I have a server in my office where I can access all | 0:41:09 | 0:41:12 | |
1,000 machines and co-ordinate and start and stop the programme, and | 0:41:12 | 0:41:15 | |
things like that. Those two things have been a really big help. What | 0:41:15 | 0:41:19 | |
is the driver here for you, I know there is some prize money, but you | 0:41:19 | 0:41:25 | |
are not going to be able to retire on it? No, no. In fact, we have | 0:41:25 | 0:41:30 | |
always taken the prize money and given it back to the university. I | 0:41:30 | 0:41:34 | |
think what drives me is the process of searching for the primes, and | 0:41:34 | 0:41:40 | |
the fact that this is kind of like climbing Mount Everest, or diamonds | 0:41:40 | 0:41:45 | |
in the rough that we are searching for. And just the beauty of the | 0:41:45 | 0:41:50 | |
mathematics and the all georite ims, and harnessing all the computer | 0:41:50 | 0:41:55 | |
power, that is what drives me and I love it. Mount Everest is there, | 0:41:55 | 0:41:59 | |
while these bigger and bigger prime numbers aren't, or you can't see | 0:41:59 | 0:42:05 | |
them? Yeah, that's right. I'm still wondering what drives you. Because | 0:42:05 | 0:42:10 | |
some people look at these huge prime number and go, what's the | 0:42:10 | 0:42:17 | |
point? A lot of people have said that to me. What's the practical | 0:42:17 | 0:42:25 | |
application of this, and really, nobody has a use for this 17- | 0:42:25 | 0:42:28 | |
million digit prime we have found. There is no practical application. | 0:42:28 | 0:42:31 | |
Some of the side benefits. One of the things that used to drive a | 0:42:31 | 0:42:35 | |
colleague of mine that worked with us in the past, was this | 0:42:35 | 0:42:40 | |
distributed computing idea. Where you can have a big problem, and you | 0:42:40 | 0:42:45 | |
can distribute it among a whole bunch of PCs worldwide we have got | 0:42:45 | 0:42:50 | |
thousands, tens of thousands of PCs worldwide that have downloaded for | 0:42:50 | 0:42:56 | |
free George Waltman's software, and run it on their computers, and it | 0:42:56 | 0:43:01 | |
has been co-ordinated by the prime net server in San Diego. That is a | 0:43:01 | 0:43:05 | |
fascinating model in itself, that you can solve a big problem like | 0:43:05 | 0:43:10 | |
finding a big prime number, and do it on all these little PCs all over | 0:43:10 | 0:43:16 | |
the world. Are you good with your tax return? No, not really. My wife | 0:43:16 | 0:43:20 | |
does our taxes. I don't even touch them! At least the numbers are | 0:43:20 | 0:43:25 | |
smaller, I guess. What does it mean to you, do you get a sense of | 0:43:25 | 0:43:29 | |
something, when you see this new big number, what do you see, what | 0:43:29 | 0:43:37 | |
do you feel when you see it? course it is exciting. And you get | 0:43:37 | 0:43:42 | |
a sense of satisfaction, because you know the last one we discovered | 0:43:42 | 0:43:48 | |
was in September of 2006, and so, you know, during the process, in | 0:43:48 | 0:43:52 | |
2009, in 2010, even three or four week ago, I think, gosh, we have | 0:43:52 | 0:43:57 | |
tested a lot of numbers and haven't found anything, what am I really | 0:43:57 | 0:44:05 | |
doing. But, what kind of drives me is just the thrill and the prime, | 0:44:05 | 0:44:08 | |
so and it was announced we discovered it, there was a big | 0:44:08 | 0:44:13 | |
excitement. Our university has gone crazy. Congratulations. | 0:44:13 | 0:44:20 | |
notoriety of it. Thank you. Good to hear from you, gone gratlation. | 0:44:20 | 0:44:30 | |
0:44:30 | 0:44:55 | ||
-- congratulations. Let's take a We will encourage to take the | 0:44:55 | 0:44:58 | |
stairs not the lift. We leave you with some people who raised to the | 0:44:58 | 0:45:03 | |
top of the Empire State Building, 86 floors, and more steps than the | 0:45:03 | 0:45:09 | |
big prime numbers. Australians were the fastest men and women, Mark | 0:45:09 | 0:45:19 | |
Borne made the climb in ten minutes and ten seconds. | 0:45:19 | 0:45:21 | |
# Ain't nothing gonna break my stride | 0:45:21 | 0:45:24 | |
# I'm running and I won't touch ground | 0:45:24 | 0:45:28 |