Everyday Maths
The Maths of Red Noses 6 March 15
There are nine noses to collect for the full Comic Relief set. But how many do you have to buy before you've got the lot?
How Donald Duck created an Urban Myth 19 December 14
From architecture to credit cards, myths about the beauty of the golden rectangle are hard to dispel. It's Donald Duck's fault.
Trams, taxes and cliff edges 3 July 14
The new Edinburgh tram has a strange connection to stamp duty
When the Birthday Coincidence Goes Wrong 29 November 13
The birthday coincidence is a lovely way to demonstrate how probability can be surprising. Except when it goes wrong.
The Big Bass Jackpot 1 September 13
An arcade experience that made me realise the appeal of gambling
The Mobius Loop Rollercoaster 3 June 13
Blackpool's Grand National rollercoaster is described as a Mobius Loop, yet you never go upside down. How?
King Richard III 10 May 13
Fifteen 'descendants' of Richard III want a say in where he is buried. What about the rest of us?
How much does it cost to cross the road? 15 March 13
Innocently pressing the button at a pedestrian crossing brings several cars to a halt. What's it cost in wasted petrol?
The Lincoln Index 25 February 13
The Lincoln Index is nothing to do with predicting Oscar winners, but is in fact a neat way of estimating how mistakes there are in a book after proof-reading it.
Introducing…ZEQUALS 18 February 13
The government wants ten year old children to be able to do long division calculations such as 8384 / 27. That might take a less able ten year old almost half a lesson to work out. Much better to have a way of coming up with a good estimate of the right answer – which is where Zequals comes in.
"JURASSIC PARK AND FRACTALS" 6 February 13
Last week, Brady Haran brought a camera to my house and filmed three items for his Youtube channel Numberphile. The first of these went up on Youtube this week.