public understanding of mathematics

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  • Common sense
Australian cricket to blame for oil price rise?
Exhibition design is not a career that the mathematically inclined tend to think about, let alone pursue. Barry Phipps is the first interdisciplinary fellow with the Kettle's Yard gallery in Cambridge. His remit is to develop projects of an interdisciplinary nature — "to find the common ground between things." Whilst most people think that art and science are two completely separate non-overlapping areas of human endeavour, Phipps does not see it this way.
  • The league table lottery
  • Plus and presidents
What's the risk of passive smoking? Or climate change? How big is the terrorist threat? And should we trust league tables? These issues concern all of us, but it's not always easy to make sense of the barrage of media information. David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk, gives Plus his take on uncertainty.
Plus celebrates its tenth birthday this year. Former editor and present executive editor of Plus, Robert Hunt, explores how maths popularisation in general, and Plus in particular, have changed over the last ten years.
  • What motivates mathematics?
  • Win glory and more as a Plus author!

Where is the next generation? — more bad news for maths education.

One hundred years ago, in 1905, Albert Einstein changed physics forever with his special theory of relativity. Since then his name — and hair do — have become synonymous with genius. John D Barrow looks at Einstein as a media star.
  • Where is the next generation? - more bad news for maths education.
  • Can Plus cure crazy scientists? - the science stereotype persists.
  • Editorial trends - According to current trends, this editorial will never get written!
  • I've got your number - Soon the maths-phobic will have nowhere left to hide.
In issue 29 of Plus, we heard how a simple mathematical equation became the subject of a debate in the UK parliament. Chris Budd and Chris Sangwin continue the story of the mighty quadratic equation.