Article
Let's rock
Rock and its use for tools and buildings has shaped human civilisation. Here's an introduction to the maths of rocks.
Article
Maths in a minute: The brazil nut effect
Why your muesli shakes down in unexpected ways.
Article
Making penalties fairer
Is the proposed ABBA rule for penalty shootouts really fairer than the existing rule? Maths shows that it is, and also suggests another, more subtle rule.
Article
Maths in a minute: Compound interest and e
Compound interest is the curse of debt and the blessing of saving. Find out how it works and what it has to do with one of the most important numbers in mathematics.
Article
A conversation with Stephen Cook
We talk to pioneering mathematician Stephen Cook, who came up with the concept of NP-complete problems, about his work, computer science, and artificial intelligence.
Article
What's your problem?
There are problems that are easy to solve in theory, but impossible to solve in practice. Intrigued? Then join us on a journey through the world of complexity, all the way to the famous P versus NP conjecture.
Article
The shape and fate of the Universe
How will the Universe end? In a big crunch? Or a big freeze? It all depends on its shape...
Article
Maths in a minute: Variance
If you're bored with the average, then move on to the variance!
News story
Mathematician advises the Home Office
Statistics professor John Aston has been appointed as the Home Office's new Chief Scientific Adviser.
News story
On the tiles
Our colleague Becky Warren has been distracting us with her wonderful tiling puzzles...
Article
Missing a complex opportunity
How Heron of Alexandria missed his chance to explore the unknown mathematical land of complex numbers.
Article
What is the Mandelbrot set?
This article gives a short but thorough introduction to that fabled beast of mathematics: the Mandelbrot set.