Mathematics (52 total posts)

Concerning Leap Years

December 13, 2017
Who Introduced the Leap Year? Julius Ceasar, believe it or not. The Roman calendar had got seriously out of date with the solar calendar, even though Roman officials were supposed to introduce an extra month every so often. So Caesar consulted his top astronomers who...

Muhabbat Sharapova, Mathematician – and Hero of Uzbekistan

November 6, 2017
To be named as a “Hero of Uzbekistan” is to be awarded the highest national honour in that country. Recently, Muhabbat Sharapova, one of the country’s top mathematicians, received the award – not for her mathematical prowess, but because she...

More puzzles

October 23, 2017
It’s sometimes hard to define whether a puzzle can be classified as “mathematical” or not. They certainly are if they require mathematical techniques or knowledge to solve them. Today’s puzzles don’t, but I would still class them as...

A democratic paradox

September 13, 2017
Democracy depends on people voting for their leaders, but there are many different voting systems in use, all of which aim for a fair result: first past the post; single transferable vote; alternative vote plus are three examples. All have advantages, all have...

Coincidence or conspiracy?

August 28, 2017
Consider these well known historical connections: TITANIC:  In 1898, a British author wrote a story about a luxury liner, 800ft long, which was travelling at full speed when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic, and sank with the loss of 2500 people. The loss of...

Practical applications: Vectors

August 14, 2017
Are vectors just a mathematical idea, or are they of any practical use? Every time you fly anywhere, it’s because of vectors that you end up in the right place! Here’s why. What is a vector? A vector represents any quantity that has both magnitude and...