Episode 4. On any plane separated into regions, the regions may be coloured in such a way that no two adjacent regions receive the same colour using no more than four colours. Read a history of the four colour theorem at the MacTutor archive or get more information on the theorem at Wikipedia. On the…
New Unified Mathematical Society
Over the past two weeks I have hectically followed the Presidents of the IMA and the LMS on a tour of several universities connected to the proposal for the formation of a new mathematical society. I should say my involvement has been nothing compared to the Presidents, who have visits more universities than I, have…
Podcast: Episode 3 – Dr. Joanna Hartley, Public Transport Modelling
These are the show notes for episode 3 of the Travels in a Mathematical World podcast. 3 is prime and the only number which is equal to the sum of all the natural numbers less than it. More facts about number 3 from numbergossip.com. I was returning home from a trip to Birmingham, when a…
Somewhere between 78 and 120 people are listening (possibly)
I am delighted to report that the first episode of the Travels in a Mathematical World podcast was released a week ago and has been downloaded 120 times by 78 unique IP addresses in the first week (one of which was me). Turning web hit logs into number of real people is a black art…
Podcast: Episode 2 – Noel-Ann Bradshaw, Newton and Leibniz
These are the show notes for episode 2 of the Travels in a Mathematical World podcast. 2 is prime, the only even prime number. More facts about number 2 from thesaurus.maths.org. In the first of our Maths History series, Noel-Ann Bradshaw of the University of Greenwich and also Meetings Co-ordinator of the British Society for…
Enigmatic SUMS in Leicester
Yesterday I spent an afternoon in Leicester. I visited the University of Leicester and met with the Student Union Maths Society (SUMS) group in the new David Wilson Library. They are an enthusiastic bunch and we had a good meeting discussing their plans for the group and how the IMA can help. I then walked…
Podcast: Episode 1 – Professor Philip Maini, Oxford – Maths Biology
These are the show notes for episode 1 of the Travels in a Mathematical World podcast. 1 is the multiplicative identity. More facts about the number 1 from thesaurus.maths.org. In this episode, Professor Philip Maini of the Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Oxford, talks about the field of mathematical biology. On his website, I’d…