Registration for the 2017 Alan Turing Cryptography Competition is now open!
You're reading: Posts By Katie Steckles
The maths of the Grime Cube
Not content with already having five cubes named after him, internet maths phenomenon James Grime has now developed a new Rubik’s cube-style puzzle for internet maths joy merchants Maths Gear. I’ve been slightly involved in the development process, so I thought I’d share some of the interesting maths behind it.
Another name for a Rubik’s cube is ‘the Magic Cube’ – and Dr James Grime wondered if you could make a Magic Cube which incorporates its 2D friend, the Magic Square.
“Mathematics: The Winton Gallery” opens at Science Museum
Image by Jody Kingzett
The Science Museum in London has for a long time had a maths gallery; if you didn’t already know that, it’s probably because it was old, stuffy, full of random maths objects (so, very cool if you’re me), and not very easy to find. They’ve updated the gallery, working with the architect Dame Zaha Hadid, to produce a new space which hopefully brings the gallery up to date.
After a preview opening event, reports seem to be largely positive – the gallery has taken the approach of focusing on the way mathematics impacts the real world, rather than the actual maths itself. It contains lots of interesting artefacts and stories about the history of the way people have interacted with mathematics, although according to observers, no equations (boo!).
It’s been written up by a few design-focused websites, but the best articles to get a sense of it are Alex Bellos’ write-up in the Guardian, and a piece by BBC arts editor Will Gompertz (although one wonders if the BBC couldn’t have sent their science, or in a magical fairyland, maths correspondent to cover this).
The gallery is open at the Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London, starting 8th December, daily from 10am-6pm, and is free to visit.
More information
Mathematics: The Winton Gallery on the Science Museum website
Carnival of Mathematics 140
The next issue of the Carnival of Mathematics, rounding up blog posts from the month of October/November, and compiled by Tom, is now online at Mathematics and Coding.
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.
Maths Journals for an engaged Sixth Former
Maths legend Colin Wright posed this question on Twitter:
Q for my maths tweeps – recommendations wanted for Maths Journals suitable for a bright and engaged Sixth Form student. Suggestions?
— Colin Wright (@ColinTheMathmo) November 24, 2016
It led to a flurry of interesting replies, and here’s some of them.
Rubik’s cube manufacturer loses trademark battle
After all the excitement of the UK Rubik’s cube championships last weekend, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that after 10-year legal battle, the trademark on the shape of the Rubik’s cube is not valid.
The trademark was registered in 1999, but since the original design of the cube was never patented, it’s long been on shaky ground. The court has ruled that the shape of the cube alone is not enough to protect it from copying, and that a patent would be needed to do so. The implications are that licensed manufacturers of the game could now face more competition from cheaper overseas sellers.
More information
Rubik’s Cube puzzled after losing EU trademark battle, at The Guardian
Rubik’s Cube shape not a trademark, rules top EU court, at BBC News
Apéryodical: Mini-podcast with Ben Sparks and James Grime
As part of our special Apéry takeover today, I chatted to mathematicians Ben Sparks and James Grime, to find out what we know about the mathematics Apéry did – it’s an enjoyable 10-minute listen.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS | List of episodes