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Maths is Everywhere

This is a series of six mathematics lectures given by Professor John D. Barrow, investigating the many ways in which mathematics underpins our everyday lives.

Professor John D. Barrow FRS has been a Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge since 1999, carrying out research in mathematical physics, with special interest in cosmology, gravitation, particle physics and associated applied mathematics. (from gresham.ac.uk)

Image: Maths is Everywhere


Maths with Pictures
How pictures have been used in mathematics. The use of illustrations in ancient mathematics books, the invention of the first graphs and the representation of probabilities, sets and formulae by pictures.

Continued Fractions
What are continued fractions? How can they tell us what is the most irrational number? What are they good for and what unexpected properties do they possess?

The Bounce of the Superball
The commercially available 'Superball' of hard rough rubber displays many counterintuitive properties which seem to violate Newton's laws of motion.

The Uses of Irrationality: Paper Sizes and the Golden Ratio
Is there anything mathematically interesting about the paper sizes we use? We will see that their range of sizes has special features that facilitates their use in Xerox machines.

Benford's Very Strange Law
The first digits of randomly chosen numbers arising naturally or in human affairs display surprising statistical regularities.

Doing Business in Interstellar Space
Imagine that interstellar trade is possible at speeds close to the speed of light. It must incorporate the insights of Einstein's special theory of relativity, which teaches us that clocks on board a spaceship moving at high velocity will ensure time at different rates relative to clocks at the point of departure.


Related Links
The Story of Maths
This is a BBC documentary series written and presented by Professor Marcus du Sautoy, outlining aspects of the history of mathematics.
Mathematics: Making the Invisible Visible
Often described as the science of patterns, mathematics is arguably humanity's most penetrating mental framework for uncovering the hidden patterns that lie behind everything we see, feel, and experience.
Mathematics in the 21st Century
This course will talk about the application of maths in modern life - from computing to voting, to art, curing cancer and saving the whales.
Mathematics and the Making of the Modern and Future World
A series of public lectures showing how relevant mathematics is to all of our lives, and the process by which mathematical ideas move from the abstract to the practical, and also transfer technology between very different disciplines.
The Beauty of Diagrams
This is a BBC documentary series presented by Professor Marcus du Sautoy, exploring the stories behind some of the most familiar scientific diagrams.
The Code
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The Secret Mathematicians
This will explore the hidden mathematical ideas that underpin the creative output of well-known artists and reveal that the work of the mathematician is also driven by strong aesthetic values.
How Mathematicians Think about Patterns
This talk explores some basic ideas about symmetry, and shows how it helps us to understand patterns in nature.