In 2015 The Aperiodical went from strength to strength again, with 179 posts published by 18 authors. I’ve collected our ten most popular posts from 2015, in case you missed them.
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- Steve Humble (Dr Maths) awarded MBE for services to Education (via Garrod Musto on Twitter);
- Lynn Churchman of National Numeracy awarded OBE for services to Maths and Numeracy education (via Rob Eastaway on Twitter);
- Sue Black (Bletchley Park campaigner, among much else) awarded OBE for services to technology (via Colin Wright on Twitter);
- Margherita Biller (Head of Mathematics, York College), awarded MBE for services to Mathematics in Further Education;
- Emily Shuckburgh, mathematician and climate scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, awarded OBE for services to Science and Public Communication of Science (added in an update 01/01/16, thanks to Colin Cotter on Twitter);
- Ruth Kaufman, president of the Operational Research Society, awarded OBE for services to Operational Research (added in an update 01/01/16, thanks to Catherine Hobbs in the comments);
- Clare Sutcliffe, founder of Code Club, awarded MBE for services to technology education (added in an update 01/01/16, thanks to John Read in the comments);
- Alison Allden, formerly chief executive, Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited, awarded OBE for services to higher education (added in an update 05/01/16, thanks to Susan Oakes in the comments);
- Professor Dame Ann Dowling, who studied mathematics as an undergraduate and is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Cambridge, is admitted to the Order of Merit for mechanical engineering (added in an update 07/01/16, thanks to Rebecca Waters in the comments).
Relatively Prime Recap: Season 2, Episode 3: Mathematistan
I have to say, I chuckled: the week Relatively Prime hits ‘noteworthy’ on iTunes is the week Samuel discusses using maths to do well in popularity contests. Coincidence? I think not.
To me, episode 3 of the second series represents something of a return to form for one of the top half-dozen maths podcasts around; whether this is because I’m a fan of political maths or because it’s genuinely really good is a) difficult to tell because I’m biased and b) a false dichotomy.
Books a 14-year-old who’s good at maths might enjoy
My good friend David Cushing popped on Facebook messenger to ask me a question:
I did tweet it, and I got a lot of good responses. Before I tell you about those, I’ll quickly list the books we mentioned above, that of course a keen 13-year-old already has.
Relatively Prime Recap: Season 2, Episode 2: Your Daily Recommended Math[s]
Maths – as teachers are fond of telling anyone who’ll listen – is everywhere. In this difficult second episode of the difficult second series of Relatively Prime, Samuel Hansen shows us a few important places where it can be a help: at the petrol pump, at the birthday party, in the car park and at the bar — or rather, in deciding whether to go.
MathsBombe Competition
From the team that brought you the Alan Turing Cryptography competition, Manchester Uni’s maths department are running another schools maths puzzle competition, this time called MathsBombe.
Aimed at students up to Year 13 (England and Wales), S6 (Scotland), Year 14 (Northern Ireland), the competition starts on 13th January, and teams of up to 4 can register.
The puzzles will be released every two weeks, in four sets, and there’s a prize for the team solving each puzzle set first. There are plenty of other prizes too, and it’s free to enter. There’s still time!
More information: MathsBombe website.
Relatively Prime Recap: Season 2, Episode 1: The Lexicon
I’ve been waiting for the new season of Relatively Prime for more than three years. I’ve listened to Chinook, the highlight of Season 1, countless times since then. And finally, finally, it’s arrived in my podcast feed.
Woo, and for that matter, hoo!
Particularly mathematical New Years Honours 2016
Once again, it’s time for our traditional trawl through the New Years Honours list for mentions of “mathematics”, hoping that better-informed readers will fill in the people this crude method has missed. I’ve found the following names:
Are there any others I’ve missed? Please add any of interest in the comments below. A full list may be obtained from the Cabinet Office website.