Mark Carney: £50 character selection and Future Forum launch

Remarks by Mr Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, at the Science Museum, London, 2 November 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
05 November 2018

It is always a pleasure to visit the Science Museum. Its galleries and exhibitions showcase the rich history of human ingenuity in the sciences, technology, and medicine.

You might think that the Bank of England has little in common with such lofty endeavours, but science spans all aspects of life, extending even to central banking.

Within this Mathematics Gallery alone, there are multiple examples of where the worlds of central banking and science converge.

Take the Moniac machine, which illustrates the circular flow of income around the economy using an assortment of pipes and coloured water.

Or Babbage's Analytical Engine, developed in collaboration with mathematician Ada Lovelace. This precursor to modern computers helped estimate mortality rates, techniques that are still central to underwriting life insurance policies today. The same life insurers that we regulate at the Bank of England.