Articles

A brief history of mine

This is an excerpt from Stephen Hawking's address to his 70th birthday symposium which took place on 8th January 2011 in Cambridge.

John Conway - discovering free will (part II)

In this, the second part of our interview, John Conway explains how the Kochen-Specker Theorem from 1965 not only seemed to explain the EPR Paradox, it also provided the first hint of Conway and Kochen's Free Will Theorem.

John Conway – discovering free will (part I)

On August 19, 2004, John Conway was standing with his friend Simon Kochen at the blackboard in Kochen’s office in Princeton. They had been trying to understand a thought experiment involving quantum physics and relativity. What they discovered, and how they described it, created one of the most controversial theorems of their careers: The Free Will Theorem.

John Conway – discovering free will (part III)

In this, the third part of our interview, John Conway continues to explain the Free Will Theorem and how it has changed his perception of the Universe.

Outer space: The answer to runnin' in the wind

Runners and cyclists can tolerate heat and cold but the thing they dislike most is wind. They know it produces slower times. Can we show them why?

Proof of the Kochen-Specker Theorem

In this appendix we give a gist of the proof of the Kochen-Specker Theorem.

The mathematics of your next family reunion

The festive season can only mean one thing... getting together with the family! You might not be able to choose your family, but at least now you'll know exactly what you share in common!

Decoding Da Vinci: Finance, functions and art

Dan Brown in his book, The Da Vinci Code, talks about the "divine proportion" as having a "fundamental role in nature". Brown's ideas are not completely without foundation, as the proportion crops up in the mathematics used to describe the formation of natural structures like snail's shells and plants, and even in Alan Turing's work on animal coats. But Dan Brown does not talk about mathematics, he talks about a number. What is so special about this number?

Understanding uncertainty: Visualising probabilities

Probabilities and statistics: they are everywhere, but they are hard to understand and can be counter-intuitive. So what's the best way of communicating them to an audience that doesn't have the time, desire, or background to get stuck into the numbers? This article explores modern visualisation techniques and finds that the right picture really can be worth a thousand words.

Maths behind the rainbow

Keats complained that a mathematical explanation of rainbows robs them of their magic, conquering "all mysteries by rule and line". But rainbow geometry is just as elegant as the rainbows themselves.

Join the celebration of mind!

It's 21st of October and for puzzle lovers this can only mean one thing: the G4G Celebration of mind. This annual party celebrates the legacy of Martin Gardner, magician, writer and father of recreational maths, with mathemagical events in his honour happening all over the world.

Exploding stars clinch Nobel Prize

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for a discovery that proved Einstein wrong and right at the same time.