Maths Inspiration

On Tuesday 10th March, ahead of World Pi Day, our mathematically-minded students in Year 11 and Lower Sixth were delighted to attend a morning of Maths Inspiration lectures at the Hexagon Theatre in Reading. Amused by stand-up comedian and host, Matt Parker, the audience laughed over calculous cracks and geometry gags before welcoming a line-up of exciting guests.

Maths Inspiration is a national programme for young adults, which offers maths in the context of exciting, real-world applications. Comprised of interactive talks and lively Q&A sessions, its lectures make links to National Curriculum content and feature accomplished mathematicians, engineers and statisticians.

The event was hosted by well-known experts in their field, including Rob Eastaway, often heard on BBC Radio 4 and 5 Live, talking about the maths of everyday life. He is also the puzzle writer for New Scientist magazine. His talk entitled ‘Maths on the Back of an Envelope’ demonstrated how this style of quick calculation can help with anything from landing a top job, getting a place at a prestigious university to answering questions on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ Rob focused on a vital part of maths, a sort of ‘impure maths’, where the answer is only a rough approximation. He looked at dealing with imprecise numbers, be it in news headlines, or performing simple estimations to solve problems which seem complex at first. Rob’s message was to “keep in touch with your non-calculator side”.

Next up, Mathematician, Engineer and Lecturer, Paul Shepherd, presented ‘Simply the Best’. Having helped design sports stadiums around the world, Paul now researches ways in which the power of computers can be harnessed to make better buildings. From the geometry of chains to the maths of swarms, he spoke about the obscure sounding yet vital numbers behind designing structures that combine strength, beauty and a minimum carbon footprint. His portfolio includes Arsenal’s Emirates, Dublin’s Lansdowne Road and even the London Olympic Stadium. Maths doesn’t get more practical than this and brought optimization problems to life for our Sixth Formers!

Sezen in Lower Sixth remarked “Fractals are super cool! Maths is less logical than you would think!”

To end the morning, Ben Sparkes, a true ambassador for STEAM, shared his adoration of creative and critical pursuits with his performance of the classic 1960’s song ‘Windmills of your Mind’. Ben Sparkes is a Mathematical Musician based at the University of Bath.