In this newsletter:

* Latest news
* Plus Podcasts
* Mathematical moments
* Browse with Plus
* Live maths
* The Plus New Writers Award

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Latest news

How the Universe began
Cambridge celebrates 25 years since the first very early Universe workshop
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/jan-apr08/VEU/index.html

Aping around with numbers
Chimps beat humans in numeracy test
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/sep-dec07/chimps/index.html

Changing the face of science
Changing your facial appearance with maths
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/sep-dec07/face/index.html

Rollicking pollock debate
Fractal modelling of Pollock paintings called into question
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/sep-dec07/fractals/index.html

Plus ... more news from the world of maths in the Plus blog, including the
awarding of the TED prize to Cambridge University Professor Neil Turok.
http://plus.maths.org/blog/

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Plus Podcasts: Maths On the Move

Podcast 5, December 2007: Stadium maths
Resonating football stadiums

We talk to Paul Shepherd about the maths of the Arsenal football stadium
and to David Youdan about applied maths in the classroom.
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/PlusPodcastDec07.mp3

Plus Careers Podcast, December 2007: Mathematical Modelling Consultant
Find out what a mathematical modeller does

We talk to Nira Chamberlain about his job as a modelling consultant
involving aircraft carriers, telecommunication networks, staying slim and
speaking French.
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/PlusCareersPodcastDec07.mp3

To subscribe or see a list of all our episodes, go to:
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/index.html

Or look up Plus in iTunes.

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Mathematical moments

* Charles Babbage
Born: 26 Dec 1791 in London, England
Died: 18 Oct 1871 in London, England

"The whole of the developments and operations of analysis are now capable
of being executed by machinery. ... As soon as an Analytical Engine exists,
it will necessarily guide the future course of science." Charles Babbage,
Life of a Philosopher.

Charles Babbage, a mathematician and philosopher, was the first to envision
a programmable computer. Babbage was born in London, however suffered from
many illnesses that meant he was largely schooled in a school for special
care. Babbage showed considerable mathematical talent early in his life. He
enjoyed the major works in maths and showed a solid understanding of the
theories and ideas he came across. As an undergraduate at Cambridge
University, Babbage set up a society to examine the works of the French
mathematician Lacroix, on the subject of differential and integral
calculus. Finding Lacroix's work a masterpiece, Babbage was asked to set up
an analytical society that was composed of Cambridge undergraduates. The
works of this group, which included John Herschel and George Peacock, were
serious publications in this period, no mean feat for a group of
undergraduate students. Many of the leading maths scholars expressed
special praise for the contribution of Babbage. Babbage completed his
schooling and started to write papers on various subjects for the Royal
Society of London, who honoured him with an invitation to join and the role
of Vice President.

Babbage became interested in astronomy and the equipment used to study the
heavens. This appears to be the time when he got the idea for a mechanical
calculation device. Frustrated with the waste of time and money used to
create logarithmic tables manually, Babbage invented the Difference Machine
to create these tables. The success of this endeavour led Babbage to
envision a device that could perform any calculation. Dubbed the Analytical
Engine, Babbage's dream received funding from the government and came close
to becoming reality. Unfortunately, Babbage was never able to finish the
project as the whims of politics and funding decisions forced the project
to be dismissed after a few flawed programs were beta tested. The logic of
the process and structure of the engine formed the basis of the calculation
process of the modern computer.

Find out more about Babbage and related topics in Plus:
http://plus.maths.org/issue20/features/korner/index.html
http://plus.maths.org/issue34/features/ada/index.html
http://plus.maths.org/issue43/editorial/index.html#100years

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Browse with Plus

Numb3rs - we all use maths every day

If you watch the US TV series Numb3rs, you might be interested in this
website of associated maths activities that was put together by Texas
Instruments. The activities are based on each week's episode and are
specially designed to highlight the importance of maths in everyday life.

http://www.weallusematheveryday.com


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Live maths

* The Disputed Garment Problem: The Maths of Bargaining and Arbitration

Professor Richard Weber, University of Cambridge

This talk, hosted by the Millennium Mathematics Project
(http://mmp.maths.org), will illustrate how mathematics can be used in
decision-making, focusing specifically on mathematical ways in which to
decide the outcome of disputes. For example, suppose a company goes
bankrupt and has only £4 million left to divide amongst its creditors. What
is a sensible way for the remaining money to be partitioned amongst three
creditors who are respectively owed £1 million, £2 million and £3 million?
Should they receive equal shares, proportional shares, or something else?
This type of problem can be found as far back as 600 AD in the Babylonian
Talmud. In modern times, bargaining questions also formed part of the
famous work of the Nobel Laureate John Nash.

Richard Weber is Churchill Professor of Mathematics for Operational
Research.

When: Thursday, 7th February 2008, 5-6 p.m.
Where: Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Clarkson Road, Cambridge
How much: FREE - but please see http://mmp.maths.org/events/eventlist.php
for ticketing information
Level: Secondary, open to the general public
Suggested age range: 16+

* Maths Inspiration Events

Maths Inspiration shows are aimed at Year 12 and more able Year 11 pupils.
There are still seats available for the forthcoming shows around England,
with speakers including Simon Singh, Chris Budd and Colin Wright. The four
spring events are:

Leeds (West Yorkshire Playhouse) 26th February
Liverpool (St George's Hall) 28th February
Bath (Theatre Royal) 13th March
Southampton (Turner Sims Concert Hall) 19th March

More details at http://www.mathsinspiration.com/events.html

It's easy to make a provisional booking - simply email
[log in to unmask] (or phone 020 8693 9259) stating how many seats
you would like, morning or afternoon show, and leaving your contact
details.

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The Plus New Writers Award

Every year at Plus we hold our maths essay competition, the Plus new
writers award. We want to find people who can bring mathematics to life.
The competition is open to new writers of any age and from any background
who can explain a mathematical topic or application they think the world
needs to know about. The winning entries will be read by an international
audience of over two hundred thousand in the June 2008 issue of Plus, and
the winners will receive an iPod and signed copies of popular maths books
by some of the best science writers today. The closing date is March 31st
2008.

The competition is kindly supported by the Maths, Stats and Operational
Research Network, a Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, and the
London Mathematical Society. The competition will be judged by three
prominent mathematicians and science writers.

There are three categories: secondary school and sixth form students,
university students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) and the general
public.

If you think you can share your passion for maths with the general public,
download your entry pack today and get writing!

For more information and the entry pack, go to:
http://plus.maths.org/competition/

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Happy reading and a happy new year from the Plus team!


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