Mathematician Max Little has had some success diagnosing Parkinson’s disease by using signal processing algorithms to analyse the voice alone. Now the Parkinson’s Voice Initiative needs you – whether you have Parkinson’s or not – to donate three minutes to make a voice recording to add to their database and help improve the algorithm.
Finger counting methods and their effect on cognition
Counting on your fingers may feel natural but it is not innate or universal; methods are culturally transmitted (like number lines) and may have an effect on cognition. A Guardian blog post asks you to “without thinking about it too much, use your hands to count to 10”. How did you do it?
Bletchley Park raises funding target for Heritage Lottery Fund restoration; further funding needed
The Action This Day! campaign, to raise the £2.4 million needed to unlock £5 million of Heritage Lottery funding, has reached its target. The funding means that the Park can “commence urgent restoration of the profoundly historic, yet currently derelict, Codebreaking Huts 3 and 6, and the development of a world-class visitor centre and exhibition…
Research finds that maths-heavy evolutionary biology research papers are less often cited
An article in Times Higher Education (THE) reports on a study that has found that biologists tend to overlook research that is packed with mathematical equations.
Carnival of Mathematics 88
Better late than never, here’s the 88th Carnival of Mathematics. As an editor of The Aperiodical, I’ve been press-ganged into interrupting my holiday to write this month’s edition. Before I start with the real submissions, I think I’ll abuse this bully pulpit to link to some of my recent blogging efforts. I found each letter’s…
Turing debate in Parliament
Last Thursday a debate about the Turing pardon took place in Parliament. The MKNews website carries a report on the debate, which seems to be a rehashing of Turing’s value and the case for a pardon, including the recent suggestion of extending the new Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to posthumous cases. The report also…
Leap Second 30 June 2012
In case you missed it, here is the leap second moment. I loaded several web and desktop clock displays. Notice how many of them didn’t take account of the extra second – but some did! For more details on what this means, see the post ‘Hang on a second‘. [youtube url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbRtco6IryQ]