In this newsletter:
* Latest news
* Mathematical moments
* Browse with Plus
* Live maths
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Latest news
* Will you be my friend?
Have you got as many friends as you think?
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/may-aug08/friends/index.html
* Pi appears in crop circle
Well educated aliens
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/may-aug08/cropcircles/index.html
* How to solve a problem like mathematics
A generation of lost mathematicians
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/may-aug08/education/index.html
* It's all cricket's fault
Australian cricket team success to blame for oil price?
http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/may-aug08/oilcricket/index.html
Plus... read more on the Plus blog:
http://plus.maths.org/blog
And for all the Plus podcasts, see:
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/
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Mathematical moments
4th July - US Independence Day
As today is US Independence Day, it is a good chance to look at one of the
world's flagship mathematical organisations, the American Mathematical
Society. (http://www.ams.org)
The AMS was founded by Thomas Fiske in 1888. It was known then as the New
York Mathematical Society, and Fiske set it up after being impressed on a
visit to England by the London Mathematical Society.
John Howard Van Amringe was appointed as the first president and Fiske was
the first secretary. Following concerns regarding possible competition with
the American Journal of Mathematics, the Society set up the "Bulletin of
the New York Mathematical Society", with Fiske as editor-in-chief.
In 1894, the society reorganised under the name "The American Mathematical
Society" and became a national society. The popularity of the Bulletin soon
led to the establishment of "Transactions of the American Mathematical
Society" and "Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society", which were
essentially de facto journals. Transactions accepted only articles arising
from contributions to a meeting of the Society or one of its sections and
to give American authors a source to publish where they would have less
competition from overseas authors.
Despite changing its name to the American Mathematical Society, regular
meetings were still held in New York City. In 1896, Members in Chicago
proposed setting up chapters in other parts of the country, and in 1897,
the first official meeting of the Chicago section took place. The San
Francisco West Coast section was set up in 1902, and the South West section
in Columbia, Missouri was running in 1906.
It was not until 1988 that the "Journal of the American Mathematical
Society" was established. The AMS, along other mathematical organisations,
holds the largest annual mathematics meeting in the world, the "Joint
Mathematics Meeting." The 2007 meeting drew a record 5200 registrants.
Read more about the AMS:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Societies/AMS.html
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Browse with Plus
* The McGurk Effect
This is not necessarily mathematical, but it is a scientific oddity. The
McGurk effect relates to aural illusions - that is, when you watch and
listen to someone speak you may hear something different to if you were
simply listening to them speak with your eyes closed.
Watch the following video with your eyes open, and then try with your eyes
shut. Do you hear something different?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQoYKuNcCpU
For more information on the McGurk effect, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGurk_effect
* TotalGadha.com
The website opens with the following statement, that lets you know the
author is serious about his maths:
"These lessons are products of my 'enlightenments' in classrooms and hours
of cerebrations in solitude."
The website provides maths lessons on various topics and their applications
in different contexts at the high school level, with some of the more
interesting topics including "Skeleton in the Problem Solving Closet" and
"Math Murder Mystery".
http://totalgadha.com/html/mod/forum/view.php?id=53
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Live maths
* Elegant solutions
Who: Phil Ball
Where: Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London
When: 10 July 2008 at 7:00 pm
How much: £8, £6 concessions, £4 RI Members;
Booking: www.rigb.org or call 020 7409 2992
Mathematicians love elegant solutions to complex problems. Chemists also
love their elegant solutions - pun very much intended. With demonstrations
of some of the most beautiful experiments in chemistry, this talk will
challenge you to think anew about how we come understand the world around
us.
Scientists frequently talk about 'beauty' in their work, but rarely stop to
think quite what they mean by it. What makes an experiment beautiful? Is it
the clarity of the design? The elegance of the apparatus? The nature of the
knowledge gained? There have been several recent attempts to identify
'beautiful' experiments in science, especially in physics. But Philip Ball
argues that, not only is chemistry often neglected in these surveys, but it
has its own special kinds of beauty, linked to the fact that it is a branch
of science strongly tied to the art of making things: new molecules and
materials, new smells and colours. He offers suggestions for ten
particularly beautiful experiments in chemistry, taken from his recent book
Elegant solutions.
This talk marks the book's receipt of the 2007 Dingle Prize for
communicating the history of science and technology from the British
Society for the History of Science.
More information: http://www.lecturelist.org/content/view_institution/1382
* Not so much live maths, but live science, and perfect with the weekend
coming up...
The science of beer - From grain to glass, how to brew the perfect pint.
Who: Alex Bell, head brewer at O'Hanlon's Brewing Company
Where: Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London
When: 16 July 2008 at 7:00 pm
How much: £8, £6 concessions, £4 RI Members;
Booking: www.rigb.org or call 020 7409 2992
The great British pint - an integral part of our culture. As summer
approaches and our thoughts turn to lazy Sundays in the beer garden what
better way to spend an evening than learning about beer. Alex Bell, head
brewer at O'Hanlon's Brewing Company will talk us through the science
behind the perfect pint and let us in on some of the secrets of the
brewers' craft. What makes a good beer and why are some regions famous for
certain types of beer? Is there a difference between keg, cask and bottled
and how does this affect the flavour? Alex will reveal all. The talk will
be followed by a tasting session giving you the opportunity to sample some
of O'Hanlon's finest beers and put your newly acquired beer knowledge to
the test.
Restrictions: Over 18s only
More information: http://www.lecturelist.org/content/view_institution/1382
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Happy reading from the Plus team.
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