Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Get your tickets - only £55 for all 5 talks - here: conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/maths-fan-online-lecture-series
Each speaker will give a 1-hour pre-recorded lecture, which will be live-streamed (with an interactive element) each week at 7-8.30pm BST (UTC+1). All the lectures will then remain available to review until Thursday 11 July. The full programme is outlined below.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 6 June 2024
The equation that ruined my life (for four years)
Simon Clark @SimonClark
Most of my PhD was spent bashing my head against a brick wall of how to solve one, deceptively simple, equation. How hard can it be to disentangle the influence of different parts of the atmosphere on the surface? In order to answer that question, I will introduce you to the basics of atmospheric dynamics, numerical problem solving, and how a PhD teaches you to think like a scientist (and own your mistakes).
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 13 June 2024
"I wasn't expecting that..."
Rob Eastaway
As humans we depend on our intuition to make many of our decisions. And most of the time it works. But when intuition doesn’t work it can go spectacularly wrong. Rob Eastaway reveals some of his favourite examples, including several that relate to everyday situations, and reflects on why mathematicians so often seem to delight in the counter-intuitive. Brace yourself for some surprises... and be prepared to get things wrong.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 20 June 2024
How to get rich quick
Sophie Maclean
From fairground games to the stock market, knowing what will happen is a great advantage. In this session, Sophie gives an introduction to the world of finance and shares some of the Maths she used working as a trader.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 27 June 2024
Alan Turing and the Enigma Machine
James Grime @singingbanana
Alan Turing is best remembered as one of the leading code breakers of Bletchley Park during World War II. It was Turing's brilliant insights and mathematical mind that helped to break Enigma, the apparently unbreakable code used by the German military. We present a history of both Alan Turing and the Enigma machine, leading to this triumph of mathematical ingenuity.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 4 July 2024
Pokemaths: the maths of the video game
Tom Crawford
How many Pikachus does it take to power a lightbulb? How much do you need to feed your pet Charizard? And why does the world of Pokémon seem to ignore the basic laws of physics? Dr Tom Crawford looks at the maths of one of the world’s favourite video games.
Tickets here: conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/maths-fan-online-lecture-series
Produced by Dr Tom Crawford at the University of Oxford. Tom is Public Engagement Lead at the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education: conted.ox.ac.uk/profiles/tom-crawford
For more maths content check out Tom's website tomrocksmaths.com
You can also follow Tom on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @tomrocksmaths.
facebook.com/tomrocksmaths
twitter.com/tomrocksmaths
instagram.com/tomrocksmaths
Get your Tom Rocks Maths merchandise here: beautifulequation.com/collections/tom-rocks-maths
Get your tickets - only £55 for all 5 talks - here: conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/maths-fan-online-lecture-series
Each speaker will give a 1-hour pre-recorded lecture, which will be live-streamed (with an interactive element) each week at 7-8.30pm BST (UTC+1). All the lectures will then remain available to review until Thursday 11 July. The full programme is outlined below.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 6 June 2024
The equation that ruined my life (for four years)
Simon Clark @SimonClark
Most of my PhD was spent bashing my head against a brick wall of how to solve one, deceptively simple, equation. How hard can it be to disentangle the influence of different parts of the atmosphere on the surface? In order to answer that question, I will introduce you to the basics of atmospheric dynamics, numerical problem solving, and how a PhD teaches you to think like a scientist (and own your mistakes).
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 13 June 2024
"I wasn't expecting that..."
Rob Eastaway
As humans we depend on our intuition to make many of our decisions. And most of the time it works. But when intuition doesn’t work it can go spectacularly wrong. Rob Eastaway reveals some of his favourite examples, including several that relate to everyday situations, and reflects on why mathematicians so often seem to delight in the counter-intuitive. Brace yourself for some surprises... and be prepared to get things wrong.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 20 June 2024
How to get rich quick
Sophie Maclean
From fairground games to the stock market, knowing what will happen is a great advantage. In this session, Sophie gives an introduction to the world of finance and shares some of the Maths she used working as a trader.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 27 June 2024
Alan Turing and the Enigma Machine
James Grime @singingbanana
Alan Turing is best remembered as one of the leading code breakers of Bletchley Park during World War II. It was Turing's brilliant insights and mathematical mind that helped to break Enigma, the apparently unbreakable code used by the German military. We present a history of both Alan Turing and the Enigma machine, leading to this triumph of mathematical ingenuity.
7pm (GMT+1) Thursday 4 July 2024
Pokemaths: the maths of the video game
Tom Crawford
How many Pikachus does it take to power a lightbulb? How much do you need to feed your pet Charizard? And why does the world of Pokémon seem to ignore the basic laws of physics? Dr Tom Crawford looks at the maths of one of the world’s favourite video games.
Tickets here: conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/maths-fan-online-lecture-series
Produced by Dr Tom Crawford at the University of Oxford. Tom is Public Engagement Lead at the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education: conted.ox.ac.uk/profiles/tom-crawford
For more maths content check out Tom's website tomrocksmaths.com
You can also follow Tom on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @tomrocksmaths.
facebook.com/tomrocksmaths
twitter.com/tomrocksmaths
instagram.com/tomrocksmaths
Get your Tom Rocks Maths merchandise here: beautifulequation.com/collections/tom-rocks-maths
