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PLUS-ANNOUNCE  January 2008

PLUS-ANNOUNCE January 2008

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Subject:

Latest news from Plus magazine! - http://plus.maths.org

From:

"M. Freiberger" <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

[log in to unmask]

Date:

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 12:20:24 +0000

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (219 lines)

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!


**********

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