Happy 2010! Any guesses on the meaning of the sequence of numbers in the title (it is a bit arbitrary)? Leave them in the comments. No prizes but smug self-satisfaction.
Podcast: Episode 50 – Sebastien Guenneau, Invisibility cloaks
These are the show notes for episode 50 of the Travels in a Mathematical World Podcast. 50 is one half of the square of the base of our number system, a fact which seems to give it an arbitrary significance. So as this is the special half-century episode of the podcast I have a treat…
Podcast: Episode 49 – History of Maths and x, Substitution ciphers: Ancient – Renaissance
These are the show notes for episode 49 of the Travels in a Mathematical World Podcast. 49 is the number of strings on a harp. More about 49 from Number Gossip. In the week in which this episode is released I am giving the first in hopefully a series of lectures entitled “History of Maths…
Podcast: Episode 48 – Andrea Donafee, Cash balance optimisation
These are the show notes for episode 48 of the Travels in a Mathematical World Podcast. 48 is the smallest number with 10 divisors. More about 48 from Number Gossip. This week Andrea Donafee spoke to me about her work for Cash Management Systems in optimisation around managing cash balances. You can read more about…
Mathematics Today December 2009: University Liaison Officer’s Report
Improving graduate skills through an undergraduate conference When I give my careers talk to undergraduates I talk about the skills their degree offers and those it may not. I highlight the skills employers think maths graduates do and don’t have, based on commonly held stereotypes. On the plus side a mathematician is logical, systematic, rigorous,…
Podcast: Episode 47 – Mark Blyth, Applications of fluid dynamics in biology
These are the show notes for episode 47 of the Travels in a Mathematical World Podcast. 47 is prime and is the ‘quintessential random number’, a popular in joke; see the 47 society or the Wikipedia page 47 (as an in joke). This week on the podcast Mark Blyth of University of East Anglia (UEA)…
Slider puzzle
I had a play with a site called fyrebug.com and made a slider puzzle using the Travels in a Mathematical World podcast image. I mention the slider puzzle in the 14-15 puzzle form in my puzzles talk and you can read about the history of it at Archimedes’ Lab. You can play the Travels in…