Last week we reported that the UK Government have released a draft primary school Programme of Study for mathematics for consultation. A report from the Telegraph quoted in that article mentioned that “the use and multiplication of fractions” was “a vital precursor to studying algebra”. A piece of research published in the journal Psychological Science, ‘Early Predictors of High School Mathematics Achievement‘, investigates this area. The findings indicate the importance of learning about fractions and division by showing that these “uniquely predict” students’ knowledge of algebra and overall mathematics achievement 5 or 6 years later.
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Math/Maths 101: Ian Stewart Live from the Cheltenham Festival
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 were joined live from the Cheltenham Science Festival by surprise (to everyone involved) special guest Ian Stewart who chatted about the mathematics behind board game strategy, mathematical thinking through gameplay and presenting mathematical theories to the media. Also from Cheltenham they were joined by Jocelyn D’Arcy to talk about Maths Jam and Matt Parker’s show, and John Read to talk about a wide range of talks he’s seen at the Festival. Around this Samuel and Peter chatted to each other about: how childhood mathematics performance is affected by obesity and knowledge of fractions and division; the draft UK primary mathematics changes now available for consultation; a study which proves that bears can ‘count’ too; The Turing Solution; Blue plaque to Turing to be unveiled live online; James Grime’s support for e-petition to put Alan Turing on the next £10 note; Sir Tim Gowers; and more.
Get this episode: Math/Maths 101: Ian Stewart Live from the Cheltenham Festival
A possible contender to the Duckworth-Lewis method
Readers may be aware of the Duckworth/Lewis method for deciding how many runs the second team should score in a game of cricket foreshortened by rain, in order to beat the first team; a triumph of communicating complex mathematical ideas to a lay audience, described in an article by Frank Duckworth.
Duckworth describes some of the problems with more linear methods for deciding such matters and high profile problems that led to the acceptance of D/L as an alternative. Now, an article on the ESPNcricinfo website explains, a method developed by V. Jayadevan (the VJD method; in a paper in 2002) may perform the same trick – dealing with some of the inconsistencies which arise in certain scenarios using the D/L method. The article goes through three scenarios to illustrate the differences between the two methods.
However, as Frank Duckworth explains, getting D/L accepted was as much about communicating with a maths-phobic community as it was about a clever method.
Sources:
The rain equations: A look at how the Duckworth-Lewis and VJD methods work in different situations.
The Duckworth/Lewis method: an exercise in Maths, Stats, OR and communications (F. Duckworth).
Rob Eastaway on Twitter.
Mirror which could eliminate drivers’ blind spot receives US patent
A problem in optics has lead to a US patent for a car side mirror which “eliminates the dangerous ‘blind spot'” and “dramatically increases the field of view with minimal distortion” by finding approximate solutions for “the problem of controlling a single ray bundle with a single reflector”.
The Turing Solution: radio documentary
The Turing Solution, a BBC Radio 4 documentary presented by Matt Parker covering “mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing, and his role in the invention of the computer”, was broadcast last week and is currently available on BBC iPlayer. A quick (28 min) biography covering various aspects of his life and work (particularly including his mathematics and work in early computing), with a wide range of interesting contributors, this is well worth catching.
Sir Tim Gowers
The latest Queen’s Birthday Honours list has been released. The list includes, under “Knights Bachelor – Knighthoods”, “Professor William Timothy Gowers, FRS, Royal Society Research Professor, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, University of Cambridge” for “services to Mathematics” and, under “Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)”, “Mrs Manju Tank, Maths Teacher, Taunton’s College, Southampton” for “services to Education”.
I trust readers will know Fields medallist Tim Gowers, perhaps via his well known blog. The Southern Daily Echo reports that Manju Tank “has dedicated 40 years of her life to helping Hampshire’s ethnic minorities access vital services” and that the MBE recognises “a career spanning four decades which has seen her help hundreds of city youngsters overcome language barriers”.
Sources:
The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2012.
Queen honours unsung heroes across Hampshire in her Diamond Jubilee year.
James Grime: Campaign for the Turing Tenner
James Grime has come out in support of the campaign to put Alan Turing on the £10 note. He explains about this in a new video.
[youtube url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHko_-QKrFY]