It’s that time of year when we take a look at the UK Government’s New Years Honours list for any particularly mathematical entries. Here is the selection for this year – any more, let us know in the comments and we’ll add to the list. Get the full list here.
Aperiodvent, Day 24: The Equation for a Merry Xmas
Merry Christmas, Aperi-readers. Please enjoy this pleasing algebraic manipulation, and we’ll see you when we’ve finished eating all the mince pies! This post is part of the Aperiodical’s 2018 Aperiodvent Calendar.
Aperiodvent, Day 23: Cellular Automata and Snowflakes
Friend of the site Andrew Taylor has a host of fun gadgets on his website, the Christmassiest of which has to be this Cellular Automata Snowflake Generator. It allows you to iterate two deterministic processes that model aspects of real snowflake generation, and create your own beautiful designs. This post is part of the Aperiodical’s 2018 Aperiodvent Calendar.
Aperiodvent, Day 22: The Royal Statistical Society Christmas Quiz
For fans of outlandishly devious puzzles, the highlight of every Christmas is the RSS Quiz. No statistical knowledge is needed, but you will need all of your lateral thinking skills, extreme Google-fu and inspired leaps of pure intuition (these will form a set of what mathematicians call ‘necessary but not sufficient conditions’). You can’t win…
Aperiodvent, Day 21: Mathematical Christmas Cracker Jokes
Are Christmas Cracker jokes not funny because they’re cleverly designed to inspire a sense of friendship through shared disappointment? Or are there just not many workable puns available with Yuletide subject matter? Either way, the one thing guaranteed to make them even unfunnier is shoehorning in some obscure mathematical concepts. So why not have a…
Aperiodvent, Day 20: Borromean Baubles by Woolly Thoughts
If you’re a knitter or crocheter, or just like making things, knitter and mathematician Pat Ashforth has put together a knitting pattern for cube-shaped baubles with the structure of Borromean Rings (each of the three components is linked through the others, and can’t be separated, but if any one of them is cut, the other…
Number Day 2019: maths-inspired fundraising for NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has announced 1st February 2019 as ‘Number Day 2019’, saying:
It’s maths, but not as you know it.
Join thousands of schools for a mega maths-inspired fundraising day and raise money for the NSPCC.
Whether you dedicate a day or an hour to being a maths maverick, every pound you raise counts towards our fight for every childhood.
Schools that register get digital resources to use in class, fundraising tips, maths activities, posters and safeguarding teacher resources.
Number Day 2019 at NSPCC.