self-indulgence | The Aperiodical

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Topics I taught this year

By Peter Rowlett. Posted May 23, 2025

It’s been quite a year. We introduced a totally new mathematics degree course, redesigned from the previous version. In addition, restructures and people leaving meant there were fewer of us teaching on the maths degree. All this together means I’ve been teaching new topics aplenty this year. Now we’re at the end of teaching, I’m looking back (and definitely not just looking for things to do that aren’t the marking I must be getting on with…) and thought I would write another of those self-indulgent blog posts that are probably only of interest to me.

This year I have taught over 200 hours across level 3, level 4, and level 6. At a high level, I have taught proof and mathematical thinking, mathematical modelling and simulation, methods in various areas, research and project skills, and maths and society. More specifically, I have been covering the following topics (some in greater depth than others!) [those marked * are new topics for me to teach this year]:

Social media and mathematical chat

By Peter Rowlett. Posted November 18, 2024

A brief update about the state of social media. A couple of years ago, I wrote about the decline of Twitter and how I was going to consciously shift my activity to Mathstodon. Just over a year ago, we launched The Finite Group, a members’ club for mathsy people, partly inspired by the collapse of social media. We recently updated this to include a free membership.

Since then, I’ve ended up in an awful state where I’m somewhat engaging with X, Mastodon, Bluesky and Threads, but not engaging much with any. If I have something to broadcast, say a new blog post, I’ll put it on all four. If I have something to say or fancy a chat, I might put it on Mastodon. What’s happening just now is that more people seem to have decided to leave X for Bluesky. Will that stick? I don’t know, but it’s nice to see people who I used to see on Twitter being active, and for whatever reason those people haven’t got on with Mastodon, so it seems promising (from that point of view, though it’s not an ideal place to be).

Here’s my current position:

If I want to have a natter about something maths, the absolute best place for that is The Finite Group. You can join for free and get access to a friendly online chat community run via Discord. (There are also paid memberships where you get to watch livestreams.)
Beyond that, I’m going to try to engage with Mastodon (@peterrowlett@mathstodon.xyz) and Bluesky (@peterrowlett.net), for the time being.
I’m going to stop looking at Threads. Things I post there get very little engagement, and I don’t see much I’m interested in. It’s also a regular little irritant because it keeps alerting me it has found something of interest to me, which turns out to be of no interest whatsoever.
I continue to log into X because there are some large organisations there whose updates I would like to receive. I have to wade through Elon’s thought of the day and crypto ads to get there and I hope in time this will stop being part of my life. Will I continue to post stuff I do there? I’m not sure, to be honest.

Ten years and eight days

By Peter Rowlett. Posted February 8, 2018

On 31st January 2008, I gave my first lecture. I was passing my PhD supervisor in the corridor and he said “there might be some teaching going if you fancy it, go and talk to Mike”. And that, as innocuous as it sounds, was the spark that lit the flame. I strongly disliked public speaking, having hardly done it (not having had much chance to practice in my education to date – I may have only given one talk in front of people to that point, as part of the assessment of my MSc dissertation), but I recognised that this was something I needed to get over. I had just started working for the IMA, where my job was to travel the country giving talks to undergraduate audiences, and I realised that signing up to a regular lecture slot would get me some much-needed experience. I enjoyed teaching so much that I have pursued it since.

I just noticed that last Wednesday was ten years since that lecture. It was basic maths for forensic science students. I was given a booklet of notes and told to either use it or write my own (I used it), had a short chat about how the module might work with another lecturer, and there I was in front of the students. That was spring in the academic year 2007/8 and this is the 21st teaching semester since then. This one is the 15th semester during which I have taught — the last 12 in a row, during which I got a full-time contract and ended ten years of part-time working.

I have this awful feeling this might lead people to imagine I’m one of the people who knows what they are doing.

P.S. The other thing that I started when I started working for the IMA was blogging – yesterday marks ten years since my first post. So this post represents the start of my second ten years of blogging.

You have completed level 8. Game over. Insert coin.

By Peter Rowlett. Posted February 15, 2014

(See QCF.)

That is to say, the university have sent me a degree certificate, and I’ve shown it to the bank. So that’s pretty darn official.

My teaching in 2013/14

By Peter Rowlett. Posted October 15, 2013

Some people have expressed an interest in what I am teaching this year. Here it is.

Ten years of part-time working

By Peter Rowlett. Posted September 6, 2013

In summer 2003, I put my MSc in computing into part-time mode to take up a part-time job in e-learning in maths at the University of Nottingham. Since then, I have done various combinations of paid work and education, until I handed in my PhD this summer. Viva notwithstanding, ((Though, in fact it’s quite something to withstand.)) I am now only working on one activity: I am a lecturer of mathematics.

This week, I started a full-time contract in this role. This means I am full-time on one activity for the first time since summer 2003. In recognition of this, I hope you won’t mind a little self-indulgence on my part. I have quickly mocked up the following image showing my part-time working life over recent years. ((It misses some of the detail and is not completely accurate (like all good infographics, right?), but hopefully you get the idea.)) Here’s hoping for a period of greater stability in full-time working.