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. David Winton Harding, founder of the Winton Group, knighted for…
The Mathematics of Spirograph
If you’re the kind of person who’s interested in doodling and/or fun toys, you might have encountered the fun doodling toy Spirograph, or some unbranded equivalent. It sits somewhere on the continuum between an artistic drawing tool and a neat mathematical gadget.
Sequences in the triangle and the fourth dimension
This is the second in a series of guest posts by David Benjamin, exploring the secrets of Pascal’s Triangle. Sequences in the diagonals There are many sequences of numbers to be found in Pascal’s triangle. The Natural numbers occur in the second diagonal, running in either direction, and the next two diagonals after that contain…
Mathematically Gifted
Between the three Aperiodical editors (myself, Christian Lawson-Perfect and Peter Rowlett), there’s a developing tradition of excellent mathematical gift-giving. This year, Christian has excelled himself by designing and creating a brilliant mathematical hoodie, which features a meme about an in-joke (and who can resist either a meme or an in-joke?)
Best Illusion of the Year Contest – Final
Since we know you’ll enjoy looking at some weird and wonderful illusion videos, we thought we’d share that the Best Illusion of the Year Contest has posted its 2021 finalists, and you can vote for the winner on their website.
Pascal’s Triangle and its Secrets – Introduction
This is the first in a series of guest posts by David Benjamin, exploring the secrets of Pascal’s Triangle. The triangle of Natural numbers below contains the first seven rows of what is called Pascal’s triangle. Each row begins and ends with the number 1, and each of the remaining numbers, from the third row…
Aperiodical News Roundup – November 2021
Here’s a roundup of some of the news stories from the world of maths in the month of November. Events Eugenie Hunsicker and collaborators have produced a film entitled “Words of Women in Mathematics in the Time of Corona”, which raises awareness of the impact of the pandemic on women in mathematics. The QE Prize…