Double Maths First Thing is tangled up in knots Hello! My name is Colin and I am a mathematician on a mission to spread the joy and delight in doing and discussing maths. This week I have been in error-recovery mode after drawing a wrong conclusion on a consulting project. Compared to Chris Lewicki’s classic,…
Carnival of Maths 255
The next issue of the Carnival of Mathematics, rounding up blog posts from the month of September 2026, is now online at Ben Leis’s Math Off The Grid. The Carnival rounds up maths blog posts from all over the internet, including some from our own Aperiodical. See our Carnival of Mathematics page for more information.
The last four digits of 16¹⁶
On the math-fun mailing list, Dick Hess posted “a couple of curiosities”: A speaker at G4G16 noted that \(16^{16}\) ends in \(1616\). A friend sent me this: \(499^{499}\) ends in \(499499\). Are there any other cases including numbers with more digits? That does make me curious! I’ve kept that email in my inbox since March,…
Aperiodical News Roundup – August/September 2026
Here’s a round-up of some news from the last couple of months.
Double Maths First Thing: Issue 6C
Double Maths First Thing is fair drawing in. Hello! My name is Colin and I am a mathematician on a mission to spread the joy and delight in doing and talking (and singing) about maths. This week I’m in the undelightful state of “writing up maths I’ve already done”, which is preventing me from doing…
Double Maths First Thing: Issue 6B
Double Maths First Thing is “Ruining Christmas” Hello! My name is Colin and I am a mathematician on a mission to spread the joy and delight of mathematical thinking and practice. I’m currently experiencing the joy of being told by Helen Arney that she liked I Like The Pope. Helen Arney liked my song! The…
Double Maths First Thing: Issue 6A
Double Maths First Thing is changing the key right back again. Hello! My name is Colin and I am a mathematician on a mission to spread the joy and love of maths as far and wide as I can. I’m fresh(ish) from extending my comfort zone by stepping in at short notice to play a…