Proposition: {ghost} = ∅
The proof is left as an exorcise.
See more maths puns at The Aperiodical’s Best Maths Pun of 2014 Competition
A maths joke…
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Author Archives: thomas
Kidnapped by the Mad Hatter
Having finally finished writing my thesis, I once again have the chance to update the site.
First up, a new puzzle. It is not original – I heard it from a fellow trainee teacher a few years ago, and a quick search confirms that it has popped up in numerous places – but I think it is a particularly good one.
Thinking caps on…
#3: Kidnapped by the Mad Hatter
A coloured hat puzzle!
Published: 16/03/2015
Difficulty: **
Maths knowledge required: None
Even more Pointless Maths
I have finally finished the follow-up to my previous article on the maths of TV quiz show Pointless:
Like the first part, I have attempted to write the new article such that it is accessible to all. It involves computer simulation and probability.
Merry Christmas to all.
Ultimate Tiebreaker Solution
Writer Interview
Here is a page for my interview with Katy Highet, writer of the mini audio drama You like this (2012). In the play, we listen in to the inner monologues of some speed daters whose communication leaves much to be desired. It’s only a five minute interview, but it gives some nice background information for the play, which is certainly well worth a listen if you haven’t heard it already.
Christmas Audio Drama
Created a page for my 10 minute audio drama Christmas Presents, recorded in 2012. I have included some background notes, written for a competition entry, alongside some very brief comments on how I feel about the play now.
I’m afraid it’s not exactly dripping with seasonal cheer, so if you’re looking for something heartwarming and life-affirming… well, it isn’t that. I hope you enjoy Christmas more than the characters do.
An elderly lady prepares to spend Christmas with her nephew and his family.
New Puzzle
OK. That business with the pirates was just a warm-up. The next puzzle is a bit more challenging.
It is based on something that I found myself wondering about one day. Is there a fair question that you can use as a tiebreaker to separate two quiz teams with identical knowledge? See the page for the exact details of the puzzle.
I have a solution, but there may well be others. I have given it a three-star rating for difficulty, but perhaps it is not as tough as that.
#2: The Ultimate Tiebreaker
A logic puzzle that I came up with myself.
Published: 10/12/2014
Difficulty: ***
Maths knowledge required: None (though familiarity with some other logic puzzles may help)
Solution in a week or so.
Pirate Solution
I have posted the solution for The Pirate Puzzle. After writing it, I discovered that the puzzle is actually a well-established part of the recreational mathematics canon, a fact that I had not been aware of. However, there are some important differences between my formulation and the way that the puzzle is generally stated, as I discuss at the end of the solution page.
A distracting number theory problem
While working on part two of the Pointless article, I wandered over to Twitter and stumbled upon the following problem:
Can a perfect square ever consist of the same string of digits written out twice (such as in 978978 or 46024602)? cc @jamestanton
— Matt Enlow (@CmonMattTHINK) December 4, 2014
This caught my imagination and I did a bit of an investigation. The results were unexpectedly interesting, involving a connection to a mysterious problem at the cutting edge of number theory and a trip off into the numerical stratosphere in search of some fairly large solutions.
You can read my account of the problem here. The maths used here is probably about first year undergraduate level, and the style is certainly more technical than the Pointless article, so come prepared.
Audio Drama: The Final Act
Created a page for my 30 minute 1920s murder mystery audio The Final Act, recorded in 2012. I have included background notes, written for a competition entry, and some random musings about London traffic in the early twentieth century.
April 1928. Knightsbridge.
A body. A police inspector. Three suspects gathered in the library.
Think you know where this is going…?
Are you sure?