"In the 1960s Carleson showed that any sound, no matter how complicated, can be represented as a series of sine waves. "That translates in the real world as the idea that any sound can be reproduced using the sound of a tuning fork," said a University of Oxford mathematician, Marcus du Sautoy. "The sound of a lion roaring can be broken down into just simple tuning forks."

In an iPod, tunes stored electronically as complex waves are split into their different components when played.

"For years people didn't understand the complexities of it," said Prof du Sautoy. "In recent years they've realised how amazing Carleson's work was."

This sounds like a PR release that was simplified just a bit too much.

Joseph Fourier showed in 1822 that "that any sound, no matter how complicated, can be represented as a series of sine waves.".

If I read http://www.abelprisen.no/nedlastning/2006/..._2006_press.pdf correctly, the contribution of Carleson was a solid proof.

Likewise, I would say an iPod works in reverse as they describe.