Recently on Twitter, Matt Parker (standupmaths) and James Grime (jamesgrime) were having a “nerd slamdown” working out next prime birthdays. This is the next date when the number of days since you were born is a prime. Here’s how to work this out in Wolfram|Alpha. For the purposes of this example, let’s choose an arbitrary…
On the Decline of Mathematical Studies, and ever was it so
When I started taking an interest in university mathematics teaching back in 2003/4, I quickly became aware of a report “Measuring the Mathematics Problem” (2000; also the 1995 Tackling the Mathematics Problem). This describes a decline in standards of students entering university and looks to serve as a call to arms to take action to…
Teaching/research importance
Just looking out some stories for the Math/Maths Podcast and, from Tony Mann’s Twitter stream, I came across a review in the New York Times of a facsimile of The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid: In Which Coloured Diagrams and Symbols Are Used Instead of Letters for the Greater Ease of Learners,…
What is the Math/Maths Podcast?
Just over a year ago, I wrote a post, “Echoes in an empty room“, about how wonderful it was to hear someone who listens to Travels in a Mathematical World describe the podcast in their own words. It can be a strange and isolated experience recording podcasts and it is always encouraging to hear from…
Podcast Finale/Trailer
The Travels in a Mathematical World podcast has ended because I am moving on to another job. Because of this, I have put together a brief finale episode. This includes a series of clips from a wide range of the episodes. I hope the clips will show the podcast to be interesting and varied, covering…
Podcast: Episode 64 – Peter McOwan, his career
These are the show notes for episode 64 of the Travels in a Mathematical World Podcast. 64 is the number of squares on a chessboard. More about 64 from Number Gossip. Peter McOwan of Queen Mary, University of London, spoke to me about his career, particularly how mathematics helped him work in mathematical physics, medical…
Mathematics Today August 2010: University Liaison Officer’s Report
Now this is not the end I am leaving my employment with the IMA. I am going to take up a post as HE Curriculum Innovation Adviser for the Maths, Stats and OR Network as part of the mathematics strand of the National HE STEM Programme, until July 2012. I have enjoyed my work with…