Mary Ellen Rudin, one of the pioneers of set-theoretical topology, passed away this week. She was 88.
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Matheliebe exhibition in Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein is a tiny, mountain-top country with the population of a medium-sized town and a football team routinely thrashed by everyone who encounters them (except for Scotland, of course). You’d be forgiven for thinking little ever happened there.
But you’d be wrong! There is maths in Liechtenstein! The National Museum in Vaduz (page in German) is hosting a pretty awesome-looking exhibition called MatheLiebe.
MathsWorldUK: plans for a UK maths museum
Mathematics is like marmite: either you love it or hate it. Most people who hate it do so because ‘it’s too hard’ or ask ‘what’s the point’, while those who love it tend to be those who use the subject in the workplace or are studying it. Will mathematics always be like this, or is there a way to change the perception of maths and make it more fun and appealing?
MathsWorldUK has a plan to develop a museum dedicated to mathematics in the UK. The idea behind this is to provide the public with a chance to see how mathematics is used within our society, and experience the discoveries mathematicians have made – for themselves.
English/Asian mathematics education comparison: what the IoE report actually says
According to a report by the University of London’s Institute of Education, the very best 10-year-old English students are as good at maths as their counterparts around the world, but have fallen behind by around two years by the time they reach their GCSEs.
Cue frothy-mouthed calls for more rigour and tougher exams, presumably since you can’t string people up for not being good at maths, even if it is the only language they understand. Cue also a great deal of “it’s all their fault” finger-pointing and insulting generalisations of the “of course, those Asians value study more highly” variety.
Crimewaves really are waves – but they can be stopped
Nothing puts your home insurance premium up like having been burgled in the past – because it means you’re more likely to be burgled again. Stanford researcher Nancy Rodríguez, with colleagues Henri Berestycki (who is first author, for the record) and Lenya Ryzhik, has developed a travelling waves model to explain this phenomenon – and, more importantly, how to stop it.
Crime, according to past research, tends to cluster in particular neighbourhoods – and even individual houses. Once a crime epicentre has been established, criminal activity tends to spread out in a wave pattern, gradually engulfing larger and larger areas.
News in brie(f)
“What’s that, boss?”
“I said, look at this article on a conference about how maths is applied and write something full of puns.”
“Cheesy puns?”
“Attaboy.”
LMS Women in Mathematics Day
The London Mathematical Society has announced that this year’s Women In Mathematics Day will take place on April the 18th and 19th at the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge. It’s free for students and £5 on the door for everyone else.
The event provides an opportunity to meet and talk with women who are active and successful in mathematics. While this is an occasion particularly for women active in mathematics to get together, men are certainly not excluded from this event.
The deadline for poster and talk submissions is March 15th 2013 (contact Beatrice Pelloni); if you’d like to register as a delegate, get in touch with Katy Henderson by April 1st 2013.
More details:
Women in Mathematics Day event page at the LMS