Festival Of The Spoken Nerd, the “comedy night for the insatiably sci-curious” hosted by Helen Arney, Matt Parker and Steve Mould, is going on tour.
You're reading: Posts By Peter Rowlett
Call for submissions: articles on the Maths of Planet Earth for Mathematics Today special issue
The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications has launched a call for submissions for a special issue of its magazine Mathematics Today on the Mathematics of Planet Earth.
Math/Maths 98: Why do buses come in Markov chains?
A new episode of the Math/Maths Podcast has been released.
A conversation about mathematics between the UK and USA from Pulse-Project.org. This week Samuel and Peter spoke about: Has a “schoolboy ‘genius'” solved a problem set by Isaac Newton that “stumped mathematicians for centuries”?; A Long-Time Limit for World Subway Networks; Space-filling; Running buses that don’t come in threes using Markov chains; A level Further Mathematics numbers up; Ofsted say ‘Every pupil needs a good mathematics education’; The influence of classic literature; Locally produced documentary on psychic octopus to première in Europe; Unabomber updates alumni book; Open Access Update; “Tenet” – Galois on stage; Math and Physics Flashcards; Math Girls Comic Kickstarter; and more.
Get this episode: Math/Maths 98: Why do buses come in Markov chains?
Linear Programming: problem solving starting point
You may recall that a while ago I wrote about Picture this!, an interactive problem/puzzle developed by one of our supported projects at work. Now the same group have developed a problem solving ‘starting point’ on linear programming.
The problem pits you as a toy manufacturer producing wooden dolls and trains, with a limited number of carpentry hours available per day. You are invited to consider questions around how many of each object can be produced and what can be done to optimise profit.
Two more interactive problem starting points will be ready in due course but for now please try this one and, importantly, provide feedback.
Important: Once you have played with the virtual problem solving environment, please fill out this survey from the researchers. The researchers have said to me that they are happy for the page to be public and hope that anyone who uses it will fill out the survey. Doing so, you will help the researchers discover whether the use of this software to present problems is worthwhile and beneficial. The survey asks if you are a student or a tutor. If you choose “student” you will be asked about your use of the simulation and your understanding of the underlying mathematics. If you choose “tutor” (or leave the question blank) you will be asked about how you used it with undergraduate students.
This project seeks to produce “a virtual problem solving environment which hosts problems suitable for a range of undergraduate mathematics courses“. If you want to find out more about this project then you can read the interim report from this project over on my work blog.
“Tenet” – Galois on stage
Tony Mann has written a review of the play ‘Tenet: A True Story About the Revolutionary Politics of Telling the Truth about Truth as Edited by Someone Who is Not Julian Assange in Any Literal Sense‘. Without wanting to spoil the review, which you can read as “Tenet” – Galois on stage on Tony’s Maths Blog, Tony concludes “if you can possibly see this play, I strongly recommend you do so”. The play is currently at the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill, London until May 26th.
The life and times of Paul the Psychic Octopus
You may be aware of plans for the movie ‘The life and times of Paul the Psychic Octopus’ (starring Bayes’ Theorem!). A tweet from David Spiegelhalter, who appears in the trailer, and a blog post from the Denver/Boulder A.V. Club indicates the film is ready or nearly ready to go and will appear in June and July at Sheffield Doc/Fest, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and at a screening on July 1 in Munich, Germany, hours before the Euro Cup final match.
Good times for A-Level mathematics but issues need to be addressed earlier
Recent reports from Ofqual and Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) highlight positives in the depth of content and takeup of A-Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics but an Ofsted report finds problems in earlier stage mathematics teaching.