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Mathematics

Vector: A surprising story of space, time, and mathematical transformation by Robyn Arianrhod

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September 2024, no. 468
Michael Lucy reviews ‘Vector: A surprising story of space, time, and mathematical transformation’ by Robyn Arianrhod

If you ever came across a vector in a high-school science class, it probably looked quite simple: a little arrow you might draw on a diagram to show the motion of a train or the forces on a swinging pendulum. An arrow pointing right would cancel an arrow pointing left, or → + ← = 0. Add together two arrows pointing in the same direction, you get one twice as long: →. A rightward arrow plus an upward one? You’ve got yourself a diagonal: → + ↑ =  ↗.

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The Art of More: How mathematics created civilisation by Michael Brooks

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October 2021, no. 436
Robyn Arianrhod reviews 'The Art of More: How mathematics created civilisation' by Michael Brooks

Were you one of those reluctant mathematics students who complained, ‘What’s the point of all this?’ If so, rest assured: Michael Brooks has made a compelling case for the role mathematics has played in making ‘civilisation’ possible. If you still need convincing, he also discusses research suggesting that doing maths is good for your brain.

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Reaching One Thousand

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February 2008, no. 298
I have often admired the mystical way of Pythagoras, and the secret magic of numbers.
Sir Thomas Browne, Religio Medici
The real world is not given to us, but put to us by way of a riddle.
Albert Einstein

In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand with a ...