At a time in which AI is revolutionizing the practice of mathematics – in some areas overtaking human capabilities – mathematicians are turning to the old-fashioned essay to express their thoughts on where humans could and should fit into the equation. Read more
There are a set of numbers that seem intrinsic to the world, so linked to other important sequences, that they seem to hold an almost spiritual significance. These numbers are those whose proper divisors (i.e. all the positive divisors excluding itself) sum to the original number. These are the aptly named Perfect Numbers. Read more
It is customary in January to write a blog post containing mathematical facts about the year. For us maths writers, 2025 truly was a gift, and you can see just why in Katie’s excellent post last year. But the chances of having two consecutive years with so many fun facts are, as one might expect, small. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is a dearth of interesting facts about 2026.
But do not fear! This is not going to be a list of anti-facts, of things that are not true about the number 2026. There is one fact that is so fun that I think it might blow all the 2025 facts out the water. Read more
If you ask someone their favourite number, most people will have an answer. It might be the date of their wedding, it could be a number with pleasing symmetry (I have always liked 8), or cultural significance. Very few people, however, will have a favourite average, and most would be slightly baffled at the question.
So, I am on a mission. I want to make sure that not only does everybody have a favourite average, but also that everyone knows about the deep ecosystem of different means, and how they relate to one another. Read more
It is midnight in New York. A drunkard sets off from home, and goes for a walk. In their inebriation, at each crossroads they randomly choose a direction with equal probability. North with probability ¼. East with probability ¼. South with probability ¼. West with probability ¼. Will they find their way home?
This is an example of what is called a random walk. A random walk is a process by which your location is determined from a sequence of random steps. Read more
