Number Gossip: get the low down on your favourite numbers.
The secret life and stories of numbers
Posted by John Lampard on Wednesday, 3 March, 2010 to the comment subset
![]()
The mathematical formulae of the everyday world
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 8 February, 2010 to the photography subset
Maths and photography student Nikki Graziano incorporates graphs and mathematical formulae into her landscape and nature photos.
![]()
The pizza theorem should be required learning at school
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 14 December, 2009 to the comment subset
The “pizza theorem” – which apparently took years to fully formulate – seems to solve the problem of dividing a pizza equally if it has not been evenly cut along its centre.
For a pizza cut once, the answer is obvious by inspection: whoever eats the centre eats more. The case of a pizza cut [...]
![]()
In mathematics there is art, and vice versa
Posted by John Lampard on Wednesday, 2 December, 2009 to the design and art subset
Maths and art are “two sides of the same coin” to artist-mathematician Lun-Yi Tsai:
My art usually begins with a mathematical idea I find intriguing. To make sure I understand it, I work out the steps of the construction or the proof of the proposition – these often appear as handwritten notes in the background [...]
![]()
Sporadic letter writing governed by universal laws of maths
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 5 October, 2009 to the comment subset
Even irregular or spontaneous acts such as writing letters (or emails) may be governed by universal mathematical laws according to research by Dean Malmgren of Northwestern University.
The first is our propensity to continue repeating a task once we’ve started: “Once you send one e-mail or write one letter, you tend to do another,” says [...]
![]()
Happiness, like everything, is a mathematical equation
Posted by John Lampard on Thursday, 1 October, 2009 to the comment subset
The formula for happiness has (finally) been defined as Happiness = P + (5xE) + (3xH). I imagine if the letters “E” and “H” somehow represent food and beer then I can how this equation computes.
Apparently the formula was worked out by psychologists after interviews with more than 1,000 people. Life coach Pete Cohen, who [...]
![]()
If pictures speak a 1000 words what do we make of randomness?
Posted by John Lampard on Wednesday, 3 June, 2009 to the design and art subset
Randomness strikes me as being somehow mathematical, and maths was never my strong point, however I am enjoying looking at Daniel A. Becker’s “Randon Walk” project, what does randomness look like?
The project consists of 14 double-sided A2 posters contained in a transparent plastic sleeve. Ten sheets explain the phenomena of randomness in mathematics and physics [...]
![]()
Some get drenched, others simply waltz between the rain drops
Posted by John Lampard on Tuesday, 26 May, 2009 to the comment subset
A dissection of the mathematics of running – as opposed to walking – towards shelter during rainfall, while trying to keep as dry as possible… one thing is certain, there is no escaping maths.
The problem with a solution like this, is that although it is designed to be exactly correct, it is far too complicated [...]
![]()
New Math, this is a branch of maths I’d have happily studied
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 20 April, 2009 to the comment subset
Mathematics was my least favourite, and in terms of grades also worst, subject at school, however I’m having no trouble picking up the new mathematics of Craig Damrauer.
![]()
Typesetting the world’s largest prime number
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 13 April, 2009 to the design and art subset
Your assignment today, should you choose to accept it, is to typeset the largest known prime number, at nearly 13 million digits in length. So, what would be the best font to use for such a job?
The number’s length would depend chiefly on the width of the font selected, and even listener-friendly choices like Times [...]
![]()







