List by Author: Rob Eastaway

How long a line can a pencil draw?

A quick example of the art of rough and ready calculations.
An almighty coincidence
sun behind a cloud
Life is full of coincidences, but how do you work out if something is really as unlikely as it seems? In this article Rob Eastaway and John Haigh find chance in church and work out the odds.
Remembrance of numbers past
Memory is fundamental to the way we think, and we use it in almost every activity. But most of us cannot imagine approaching the level of world record holder Hiroyuki Goto, who memorised and recited 42,195 digits of pi! Rob Eastaway asks if mere mortals can learn anything useful from such incredible feats of memory, and gives some hints on how to remember numbers.
Howzat!
Numbers are bandied around all the time in sports coverage - and cricket is particularly rich in statistics and rankings. It has probably not escaped your attention that the World Cup of cricket has just finished in South Africa (Australia won - again) and so to mark the occasion, Rob Eastaway tells Plus what it takes to be the best.
Maths and magic
Until you understand the basics of functions and algebra, the thought that a number can be predicted is a surprising one. And of course `magic' and `being surprised' are often the same thing. Rob Eastaway shows us how mathemagicians trade off the fact that you can usually predict precisely the outcome of doing something in mathematics, but only if you know the secret beforehand.
  • Maths in a minute

    Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.