List by Author: Burkard Polster and Marty Ross

How to make a perfect planeTwo lines in a plane always intersect in a single point ... unless the lines are parallel. This annoying exception is constantly inserting itself into otherwise simple mathematical statements. Burkard Polster and Marty Ross explain how to get around the problem.
On what day of the week were you born?Want to impress an audience? Then why not become a lightning calculator by learning Burkard Polster and Marty Ross' method for working out the day on which someone was born from their birthday really fast.
Ringing the changesDid you know that church bell ringers have to memorise sequences of several thousand numbers, and that it can take up to 18 hours to translate these sequences into perfect bell ringing? Burkard Polster and Marty Ross explain why, and explore the maths behind bell ringing.
  • Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.

  • What do chocolate and mayonnaise have in common? It's maths! Find out how in this podcast featuring engineer Valerie Pinfield.

  • Is it possible to write unique music with the limited quantity of notes and chords available? We ask musician Oli Freke!

  • How can maths help to understand the Southern Ocean, a vital component of the Earth's climate system?

  • Was the mathematical modelling projecting the course of the pandemic too pessimistic, or were the projections justified? Matt Keeling tells our colleagues from SBIDER about the COVID models that fed into public policy.

  • PhD student Daniel Kreuter tells us about his work on the BloodCounts! project, which uses maths to make optimal use of the billions of blood tests performed every year around the globe.