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In this newsletter: * Latest news * Plus Podcasts * Mathematical moments * Browse with Plus * Live maths * The Plus New Writers Award ********** 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/ ********** 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. ********** 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 ********** 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 ********** 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. ********** 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/ ********** Happy reading and a happy new year from the Plus team! ********** If you received this message you have subscribed yourself to the PLUS-ANNOUNCE mailing list via our website. If you do not wish to remain on the list please visit: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=plus-announce&A=1 and follow the instructions to leave the list. If you have any comments on this newsletter, or Plus Magazine, please contact us at [log in to unmask] - we are always happy to hear from our readers! Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.