Tricurves were introduced to the Aperiodical audience via Tim Lexen‘s posts Bending the Law of Sines, Combining Tricurves, Phantom Tiling, and (joint with Katie Steckles) Making Tricurves. Like Tim and Katie in that last post, when introduced to a new concept I like to play around with it to see it from different perspectives. Tiling is a topic in maths that is near enough to my speciality that I feel I should be able to understand it, but far enough that I don’t feel any pressure to be an expert – perfect conditions for playing with the concepts.
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Carnival of Maths 172
The next issue of the Carnival of Mathematics, rounding up blog posts from the month of July, is now online at Cassandra Lee Yieng’s blog.
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 at the Edinburgh Fringe, 2019
As the hordes descend upon the city of Edinburgh for another August-ful of comedy, theatre, arts and culture, the question I’m sure you’re asking yourself is, ‘what about the maths?’ Zero problem: we’re here with a quick guide to some of the big pluses you’ll find in the Fringe Guide.
Alan Turing is the face of the new £50 note
The Bank of England has announced, following a public poll, that the new £50 note will feature mathematician, cryptographer and computer science pioneer Alan Turing. While this might seem like unambiguous good news, the issues it raises are more complicated than they first appear. Here’s a guest post from LGBT+ mathematician Calvin Smith with his thoughts on the decision.
It’s obviously fabulous that Alan Turing is being recognised on the new £50 note, but this joy at seeing a gay mathematician given this recognition is tainted with the memory of his cruel treatment by the society of the day and the ongoing persecution of queer and trans people today.
Carnival of Mathematics 171
The next issue of the Carnival of Mathematics, rounding up blog posts from the month of June, is now online at MathTuition88.
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.
Carnival of Mathematics 170
The next issue of the Carnival of Mathematics, rounding up blog posts from the month of May, is now online at Mathematical Enchantments.
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.
Mathigon
This is a guest post from Philipp Legner, the creator of Mathigon – an interactive maths education platform.
Every year, thousands of students around the world ask themselves why they have to learn mathematics. Calculators can do long division. You can look up the quadratic formula on the internet. And when will you ever need calculus in everyday life? It seems like they have a point.
In fact, the maths curriculum has not changed significantly in the last 50 years. Its primary focus is on memorising rules and procedures which can be used to solve standardised exam questions. I created Mathigon because I strongly believe we need to change this – not only to make mathematics more enjoyable for students, but also to teach different skills that are much more useful in life: problem-solving, abstraction, logical reasoning, creativity, and curiosity.