Mathematics on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 Mathematics Collection I was pleased to discover recently that, as part of its initiative to make its archives more widely available, BBC Radio 4 had brought many … Continue reading
Engines of Our Ingenuity
Mathematics on the radio seems to be dominated by the BBC. Recently I went on a deliberate search for other sources of mathematics broadcasting and podcasts. Engines of Our Ingenuity is … Continue reading
More or Less
One of my favourite radio programmes is the BBC’s More or Less, which focuses on the use and misuse of statistics in the media and is not afraid to explore … Continue reading
Brian Cox: A Scientist in the Media
I’m at Manchester University for a public lecture by Brian Cox on his role as a scientist in the media. A large audience, mainly composed of Manchester University alumni occupies … Continue reading
The Murderous Maths of Everything
Where once there was nothing but Mathematics for the Million (Lancelot Hogben, 1936) there are today at least a dozen well-written popular mathematics books for adults published every year. But … Continue reading
A pebble used for counting
As I was describing how logic uses propositional calculus and predicate calculus one of my students asked me what the word calculus means. The word is quite widely used in … Continue reading
Michael Faraday: An Extraordinary Willpower?
Everybody knows that Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, but Professor Frank James of the Royal Institution has found that Faraday’s interests were far wider, and far more interconnected than was previously … Continue reading
Dispelling the Fear of Mathematics
I first encountered this book when I was about fourteen and remember eagerly devouring sections of it (I skipped the chapters on the Nature of Reasoning and the Strategy and … Continue reading
Higgs Force
Higgs Force is clearly designed (or at least, titled) to capitalise on the interest surrounding the impending confirmation of the existence of the Higgs particle. Although it devotes relatively little … Continue reading
The picture at the top
The image at the top of this blog is detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. This is one of the most famous frescoes of the Italian Renaissance and was painted … Continue reading
