Article
Article
Curious quaternions
Mathematician and physicist John Baez declares himself fascinated by exceptions in mathematics. This interest has led him to study the octonions, and, through them, to find out more about the origins of complex numbers and quaternions. In the first of two articles, he talks about connections between algebra and geometry, and the importance of lateral thinking in mathematics.
Article
Code-breakers, doughnuts, and violins
Regular Plus contributor Lewis Dartnell reports on the scramble for million-dollar prizes that made mathematical headlines at the BA Festival of Science in September 2004.
Article
A current problem
Frances Elwell looks at the eddies and currents, from the pungent problem of sewage outflow to the search for bodies of people who have fallen into rivers, explaining that fluid mechanics lies behind it all.
Article
Outer space: Two's company, three's a crowd
Two people who get on well together can often find their relationship destabilised by the arrival of a third into their orbit.
Article
Article
Editorial
- The permanent revolution - The government's response to Adrian Smith's Inquiry into post 14 mathematics education
- A-levels - Are the ever-improving results a sign of falling standards?
Article
1089 and all that
Why do so many people say they hate mathematics, asks David Acheson? The truth, he says, is that most of them have never been anywhere near it, and that mathematicians could do more to change this perception - perhaps by emphasising the element of surprise that so often accompanies mathematics at its best.
Article
Remembrance of numbers past
Memory is fundamental to the way we think, and we use it in almost every activity. But most of us cannot imagine approaching the level of world record holder Hiroyuki Goto, who memorised and recited 42,195 digits of pi! Rob Eastaway asks if mere mortals can learn anything useful from such incredible feats of memory, and gives some hints on how to remember numbers.
Article
Coincidence, correlation and chance
How much evidence would you need before buying into a get rich quick scheme? Do high ice cream sales cause shark attacks? And just how likely was it that you were ever born? Andrew Stickland finds out that, when it comes to probability, our instincts can lead us seriously astray.
Article
Why is the violin so hard to play?
As anyone starting out knows, the violin is a difficult instrument. It takes time before the novice player can expect to produce a musical note at the desired pitch, instead of a whistle, screech or graunch. Jim Woodhouse and Paul Galluzzo explain why.
