Jonathan Farley

“Jonathan Farley’s speech was one of the most inspirational speeches I’ve had in a long time.  It was a great honor to have him end the MLK events....  He has the work and insight of a genius.... I can’t thank Iowa State enough for allowing such a great speaker and mathematical genius to come to Iowa State University and ending the MLK marathon.  If he reads this, I hope he can rejoin us next year to provide his mathematical genius and moving speeches to Iowa State students again.  Thanks Jonathan Farley and Iowa State University!”

— Keith Coleman, dual degrees in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering,
     Iowa State University, in Iowa State Daily, 2007




“Many of you will know Dr Jonathan Farley as an articulate and principled speaker on behalf of the anti-war movement both in Britain and the US.”

— letter to the editor of the Morning Star newspaper (Great Britain)



• Past Speaking Events

• Topics



Past Speaking Events » Sample of Past Speaking Events

Jonathan Farley was an invited speaker at the November 18, 2001 “Stop the War” march in London.  With an estimated 100,000 people, it was the largest peace demonstration since the Vietnam War.  Dr. Farley was the second speaker, after Member of the European Parliament Caroline Lucas.

Former British Member of Parliament and member of the prime minister’s cabinet, Tony Benn, writes in his memoirs:

“To Hyde Park, where a huge crowd was gathering.  It was the biggest demonstration I can remember for many, many years.  Among those who spoke later in Trafalgar Square were John Pilger, Bianca Jagger [ex-wife of Mick Jagger], Tariq Ali, [former Taliban hostage] Yvonne Ridley, New York trade unionist Michael Letwin, Tennessee-born [sic] Dr Jonathan Farley, [Member of Parliament] Jeremy Corbyn, [Member of Parliament] Paul Marsden, [Member of Parliament] Alan Simpson, [Member of Parliament] George Galloway; then there was Germaine Greer, who turned up but was a bit late, the journalist George Monbiot, John Haylett (Editor of the Morning Star), Louise Christian, Paul Mackney, Bernard Reagan, David Nellist, Mike Mansfield and a whole range of others.”

Jonathan Farley also spoke April 26,2006 at a Washington, D.C. event on Capitol Hill. The Raytheon Corporation event marked the launch of the math education website MathMovesU.com. The only other speakers were the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, the late Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, then-Vice President of Raytheon Bill Lynn (now Deputy Secretary of Defense), Sarah Greenwald of the website Simpsonsmath.com, and Olympic gold-medalist Apolo Ohno.  Congressman Silvestre Reyes was also in attendance.

Jonathan Farley speaks to Virginia middle school students, while the late Senator Ted Kennedy (far left), Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, Congressman Silvestre Reyes, Raytheon Vice President Bill Lynn, and Dr. Sarah Greenwald listen behind him.


Other speaking engagements include:

Jonathan Farley is a former professional comedian, having performed at such venues as London’s Ion Bar in Ladbroke Grove.  In this performance filmed by BBC Oxford, Jonathan Farley positively killed the audience―which explains why they are not laughing.

Topics

Jonathan Farley gives talks on the following subjects:

EDUCATION AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

POLITICS

MATH / MATH AND HOLLYWOOD

 

EDUCATION AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

  • HOW TO GET STRAIGHT A's IN COLLEGE
  • WHAT YOU NEED TO GET YOUR PH.D.
  • GETTING INTO THE COLLEGE OF YOUR CHOICE / HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS INTO HARVARD
  • WINNING INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS

POLITICS

  • RACE
  • BEYOND THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
  • WAR and ANTI-WAR

    RACE

    • “AND THE PEOPLE SHALL RISE LIKE A MIGHTY STORM”:
      THE STORY OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
    • THE BLACK PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES?
    • LOOK FOR ME IN THE WHIRLWIND: CAN THE WEST INDIES BE A GLOBAL FORCE?
    • KING OF SPADES: WAS MARTIN LUTHER KING CRAZY, STUPID, OR JUST PLAIN EVIL?
    • HOW THE SOUTH WON THE CIVIL WAR
    • I FOUGHT THE KLAN, AND THE KLAN WON: FEAR AND TERROR IN
      TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY TENNESSEE
    • DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE: WHY AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IS A JOKE
    • SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY? BLACK MEN+WHITE WOMEN / BLACK WOMEN + BLACK THUGS
    • DESTROY ALL GANGSTAS: RAP AND THE EVISCERATION OF THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK
    • REPARATIONS NOW

    BEYOND THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM

    • WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE GREEN PARTY
    • INTERNET STORMTROOPERS (HOW TO DESTROY ENEMIES AND MANIPULATE PEOPLE)

    WAR and ANTI-WAR

    • THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE
    • THE N.S.A.’s MATH PROBLEM
    • BEYOND SEPTEMBER 11: AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE (EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES)


MATH / MATH AND HOLLYWOOD

  • OF NUMBERS AND FLOWERS: THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUTH
  • THE DREAM OF CAPTAIN CARIB, OR: TRYING TO REESTABLISH THE COSMIC ORDER
    WITH TRUTH TABLES
  • HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH MATHEMATICS
  • ALGEBRA AND AL QAEDA: THE MATHEMATICAL MIND OF THE TERRORIST
  • GIRLS AND MATH
  • HOLLYWOOD MATH AND SCIENCE FILM CONSULTING

speaking
Jonathan Farley