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Issue 48 of Plus - http://plus.maths.org/issue48/index.html

How long will you live? How should you write down numbers? Who's your ideal 
partner? How good is our voting system? And what is a differential 
equation? These are difficult and momentous questions. This issue of Plus 
has some answers, along with a tour of digital art and the usual range of 
podcasts, news and reviews.

In this issue...


* Understanding uncertainty: How long will you live? 

It's impossible to give a precise date, but using stats you can make a good 
guess. This article tells you how and has an interactive life expectancy 
calculator. Do you dare to find out?

http://plus.maths.org/issue48/risk/index.html

* Kissing the frog: A mathematician's guide to mating 

What's your strategy for love? Hold out for The One, or try and avoid 
the really bad ones? How long should you wait before cutting your losses 
and settling down with the next best who comes along? John Billingham 
investigates and saves the national grid in the process.

http://plus.maths.org/issue48/features/billingham/index.html

* Mathematics and democracy: Approving a president 

Much criticism has been levelled at the US voting system, and with this 
being election year, we're bound to hear more of it. In this article Steven 
J. Brams proposes an alternative voting system that could help make things 
more democratic.

http://plus.maths.org/issue48/features/brams/index.html

* The fabulous positional system 

According to one mathematician, god created the whole numbers, with 
everything else being the work of humanity. Why, then did god not equip us 
with a good way of writing them down? Chris Hollings reveals that our 
number system, much used but rarely praised, is in fact a work of genius 
and took millennia to evolve.

http://plus.maths.org/issue48/features/hollings/index.html

* Universal pictures 

Peter Markowich is a mathematician who likes to take pictures. At first his 
two interests seemed completely separate to him, but then he realised that 
behind every picture there is a mathematical story to tell. Plus went to 
see him to find out more, and ended up with a pictorial introduction to 
partial differential equations.
 
http://plus.maths.org/issue48/features/markowich/index.html

* Digital art 

Computer-generated art is on the rise, and with it comes a further blurring 
of the boundaries between maths and art. Lewis Dartnell looks at some 
stunning examples.
 
http://plus.maths.org/issue48/features/dartnell/index.html

* Career interview: Systems engineer 

Chuck Gill caught the space bug as a child when watching Alan Shepherd 
launch into space. Since then he's worked as a US Air Force navigator, a 
satellite operator, and in the US intelligence service. These days he's 
busy reducing carbon emissions and preparing London for the 2012 Olympics. 
Plus went to see him to find out more about his career.

http://plus.maths.org/issue48/interview/index.html

* Teacher package: Group theory 

This issue's teacher package brings together all Plus articles on group 
theory, exploring its applications and recent breakthroughs, and giving 
explicit definitions and examples of groups. It also has some handy links 
to related problems on our sister site NRICH.

http://plus.maths.org/issue48/package/index.html

But wait, there's more!

* Draw a map with Queen Griselda
http://plus.maths.org/issue48/puzzle/index.html

* Learn how to keep inflation down
http://plus.maths.org/issue48/outerspace/index.html

* And meet some election paradoxes
http://plus.maths.org/issue48/editorial/index.html


But we're not done yet!

We are releasing two new podcast episodes in conjunction with the stories in
this issue.
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/

* Podcast 12, September 2008: Universal pictures
Universal power through differential equations
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/PlusPodcastSept08.mp3

* Plus Careers Podcast 3, September 2008: Systems engineer
From satellites to the Olympics, all in one career
http://plus.maths.org/podcasts/PlusCareersPodcastSep08.mp3


Plus all the latest mathematical news and reviews.

Happy reading from the Plus team!


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