As part of the Telegraph numeracy campaign “Making Britain Count”, Matt Parker’s second set of puzzles are online. This time they are themed around prime numbers.
Telegraph: Numeracy campaign: More maths puzzles by Matt Parker.
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- a+b+c+d+e+f = y
- ab+cd+ef=10y
- abc+def=100y
- a+b+c+d+e+f = y
- 10a+b+10c+d+10e+f=10y
- 100a+10b+c+100d+10e+f=100y
Barriers to teaching
Lecturer in Mathematics.
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Applications are invited for the post of Lecturer in Mathematics.
The University of Excellence is ambitious for the future, priding itself on its commitment to world-leading research and investment in an outstanding research environment. The opportunity is available to join a dynamic, highly esteemed and international research programme. Candidates who can interact with one or more of the School’s existing research strengths are particularly encouraged to apply.
As a successful candidate, you will have a PhD (or equivalent) in some branch of Mathematics and a track record of relevant research. You will have demonstrated the ability to publish consistently in leading research journals and be able to provide evidence of your experience attracting research funding. You will advance the School’s research agenda by supervising a group of PhD researchers.
In the latest UK Research Assessment Exercise the School submitted research output from over 70 staff. 65% of this research was recognised as being either world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
Underpinned by the quality of its research, the School offers a range of degrees from undergraduate to postgraduate level. The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to the development and delivery of teaching in Mathematics.
Potential candidates are encouraged to check our website for full details.
Math/Maths 86: Complex Pony Tails
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: The Recent Difficulties with RSA; Do we need a maths museum?; Brian Schmidt’s Mathematical Arguement; IBM claims most PhD mathematicians in its employ; Maths grads teaching alert; John Nash’s Letters to the NSA; The mathematical equation that caused the banks to crash; Rapunzel’s Number: Science behind ponytail revealed; EPSRC Shaping Capabilities; Maths Jam; & more.
Get this episode: “Math/Maths 86: Complex Pony Tails“
Reading around the Alan Turing Pardon
I have a piece in this week’s Pod Delusion episode 123 at 45:00 on the pardon for Alan Turing.
Here are links to some of the bits I talked about in this.
I spoke about concerns of overdoing the Turing celebrations, saying: what Turing did was brilliant, but we should celebrate what Turing actually did, not some imagined feats, and we should not forget others in doing so. You can read more about this and find out about the article which suggested that had Turing lived then Silicon Valley might have been started in the UK at ‘Beware the Alan Turing fetish‘ by John Graham-Cumming.
Turing was convicted under Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885. In 2009 Gordon Brown issued an official apology for the way Turing was treated. Read about the official Government apology in ‘PM’s apology to codebreaker Alan Turing: we were inhumane‘. Read how the apology came about in ‘How Alan Turing Finally Got a Posthumous Apology‘ by John Graham-Cumming.
Now there is a current e-petition calling for a pardon for Turing. John Leech MP issued an early day motion calling for this pardon. (I also mentioned the current e-petition calling for a pardon for Oscar Wilde.)
Asked a question in House of Lords, a Government Justice Minister said “a posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate”. Read the text of Lord McNally’s statement.
I’ve seen the refusal to pardon Turing described as “homophobic” and an “act of malice“. Particularly, the complaint is that Turing is still seen as a criminal in the eyes of the law.
John Graham-Cumming on ‘Why I’m not supporting the campaign for a pardon for Alan Turing‘, in which he writes about the Protection of Freedoms Bill, which “specifically allows for the disregarding of convictions under the old law that was used against Turing”.
To honour Turing I suggested you might attend events under the Alan Turing Year banner, or donate to Bletchley Park’s Action This Day! fundraising campaign.
This piece used audio from episodes 84 and 85 of the Pulse-Project Math/Maths Podcast.
A puzzle from James Grime about abcdef
Today James Grime tweeted this question/puzzle:
Is there a six digit number abcdef such that the following all hold?
If not, show why not.
A little tweeting back and forth verified that “ab” means 10a+b not a×b.
If you want to have a go at this, don’t read any further until you have!
First, rewrite the expressions so that both sides use standard arithmetic:
I noticed that since a, b, c, d, e and f are all positive integers, so must y be. Then 10y must end in 0 and 100y must end in 00.
From 3, we see that in 100y only c and f contribute to the units, so c+f=0, or f=-c. See also that only b and e contribute to the 10s, so b+e=, or e=-b.
Since a, b, c, d, e and f are positive digits 0-9, the only values that satisfy these equations are c=f=0 and b=e=0.
From 2, we see that in 10y only b, d and f contribute to the units. Therefore b+d+f=0, or d=b+f. Since b=f=0, we know that d=0.
So solutions to this problem have a being any digit 0-9, b=c=d=e=f=0, and so y=a.
The answer isn’t no, nor is it quite yes. These multiples of 100000 are not exactly interesting!
After I emailed Jim I was interested to see this solution, posted at The Wandering Monster, which took a substitution approach. On Twitter Dave Hughes gave his approach: “My solution was inelegant – I threw a C# program at it“. How interesting to see how different people approach a problem!
Update (20 mins after posting!): Please check the comments for a caveat I’ve missed.
The True Importance of Friends
A new post is available over at Second-Rate Minds by Samuel Hansen.
Why your friends have more friends than you do. That is the rather provocative title of a 1991 paper by Purdue University sociologist Scott Feld. While the title is rather provocative, thankfully it turns out that the statement is built on a solid foundation. It turns out that your friends having …
Read the full post: “The True Importance of Friends“
Things to do in London on a Tuesday
Next Tuesday I will spend a day off in London. I am asking people to offer suggestions for things I could do with my time by adding pins to this Google Map: PR’s Day Off. A few people have already added their suggestions but it would be great to hear more.
View PR’s Day Off in a larger map
Load the map, then you need to log in with your Google Account then a big red edit button should appear and you can add a pin. The description I put on the map:
Ground rules:
Date is Tuesday 21st Feb.
Free or low cost. It’s expensive just to get to London.
I have a zone 1 & 2 tube card.
Train times are non-negotiable (fixed tickets).
I am going on the Maths in the City tour.
All else is up for grabs.
Make suggestions for places to go and things to see by putting pointers on the map. Explain why and give timings and a link if appropriate.
For timed events: Remember to allow enough time for travel (for someone who doesn’t know where they are going).
Please don’t delete other people’s entries. If you disagree, by all means leave a comment to say so but don’t delete something you haven’t put there.
If you can’t get the Google Map to work please leave your suggestion in the comments of this blog post.