Mathematical headaches? Problem solved!
Hi, I'm Colin, and I'm here to help you make sense of maths
Mathematical headaches? Problem solved!
Hi, I'm Colin, and I'm here to help you make sense of maths
Dear Uncle Colin, I’ve been struggling with this: “If the surface area of a sphere to cylinder is in the ratio 4:3 and the sphere has a radius of 3a, calculate the radius of the cylinder if the radius if the cylinder is equal to its height.” Can you help?
Read More →I love Futility Closet -- it's an incredible collection of interesting bits and pieces, but it has a special place in my heart because they love and appreciate maths. Not only that, they appreciate maths that I find interesting. The internet has many interesting miscellanies, and many excellent sites specialising
Read More →Dear Uncle Colin, I have to solve $615 + x^2 = 2^y$ for integers $x$ and $y$. I’ve solved it by inspection using Desmos ($x=59$ and $y=12$ is the only solution), but I’d prefer a more analytical solution! Getting Exponent Right Makes An Interesting Noise Hi, GERMAIN, and thanks for
Read More →Via @markritchings, an excellent logs problem: If $a = \log_{14}(7)$ and $b = \log_{14}(5)$, find $\log_{35}(28)$ in terms of $a$ and $b$. One of the reasons I like this puzzle is that I did it a somewhat brutal way, and once I had the answer, a much neater way jumped
Read More →In this episode, we're joined by @christianp, who is Christian Lawson-Perfect in real life, our first returning special guest co-host1. We discuss: The Big Internet Math Off and associated stickerbook 99 variations on a proof by Philip Ording The Art of Statistics - Learning from Data by David Spiegelhalter Maths
Read More →Dear Uncle Colin, How would you write $\frac{1}{10}$ in binary? Binary Is Totally Stupid Hi, BITS, and thanks for your message! I have two ways to deal with this: the standard, long-division sort of method, and a much nicer geometric series approach. Long division-esque While I can do the long
Read More →Here’s a tweet from @colinthemathmo: Here's another one. Take a square, crease in the halfway mark, fold up a corner - where does the corner go to? What are its coordinates? pic.twitter.com/Bfr0X8ACur — Colin Wright (@ColinTheMathmo) February 12, 2018 I’m not big on origami, but if Colin thinks it’s an
Read More →Dear Uncle Colin, I lost the first game of my Big Internet Math-Off tournament - can I still win the group and qualify for the semi-finals? - Surely Combinations Of Talent, Luck And Nous Deliver? Hi, SCOTLAND, and thanks for your message! Because the tie-break rules aren’t currently clear, I
Read More →At an academic conference; 22 people in the room. Speaker asks who is a middle child. There is only one in the entire group - him. Striking (if anecdotal) confirmation of stereotypes about birth order. — Leigh Caldwell (@leighblue) December 14, 2018 As a loyal listener to More or Less,
Read More →A quick extra post today: I’m in the Big Internet Math-Off, which decides who will become the World’s Most Interesting Mathematician of 2019. My first group match is today, against @kyledevans, and I’ve done a video for it! Go over to the Ap’, have a look at the pitches, and
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