My mathematical model cautions Rishi Sunak against shifting to the right ahead of the next election: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave the strongest indication yet that he intends to call the next election for around October 2024 when he released a promotional video asking “What can a country achieve in 52 weeks?” to mark his …
How a 400 million year old fossil changes our understanding of mathematical patterns in nature: The spiky branches of a monkey puzzle tree. Joshua Bruce Allen/Shutterstock If your eyes have ever been drawn to the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem, the texture of a pineapple or the scales of a pinecone, then you …
Shakespeare by numbers: how mathematical breakthroughs influenced the Bard’s plays: Mathematical motifs feature in many of Shakespeare’s most memorable scenes. He lived and wrote in the late 16th century, when new mathematical concepts were transforming perceptions of the world. Part of the role of the theatre was to process the cultural implications of all these …
Dyscalculia: how to support your child if they have mathematical learning difficulties: Lorena Fernandez/Shutterstock A good grasp of maths has been linked to greater success in employment and better health. But a large proportion of us – up to 22% – have mathematical learning difficulties. What’s more, around 6% of children in primary schools may …
How a quest for mathematical truth and complex models can lead to useless scientific predictions – new research: The mathematical concept of a fractal is a never-ending pattern. G. DAWSON/Flickr, CC BY-SA A dominant view in science is that there is a mathematical truth structuring the universe. It is assumed that the scientist’s job is …
What connects Shaka Zulu, decolonisation and mathematical models: There's a body of historical African examples that universities can use to teach a more inclusive mathematical sciences curriculum. GettyImages Is it possible to decolonise mathematical sciences? Some researchers argue that it’s not. They cite numerous reasons why. Two include the fact that decolonisation is extremely difficult …
Why it makes medical – and mathematical – sense to finally vaccinate boys against the HPV virus: Shutterstock/Naeblys From September 2019, boys aged 12 and 13 in the UK are being offered free vaccination against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) for the first time. HPV causes cervical cancer, and girls and young women have been receiving …