Channel - Perspectives in Mathematics
Second and third-year students taking the Perspectives in Maths unit plan and create short videos presenting a mathematical problem to a lay audience.
1/22/2022 1:19:24 AM
Channel Videos
Bees: mathematical geniuses
Patterns and geometry are everywhere in nature. In particular, bees and their methodologies for storing nectar have encouraged mathematical speculation for two millenia!
This video looks at the geometry for beeswax cells, average free path lengths of the size of potential nesting sites in trees and finding the best route to visit flowers through the Travelling Salesman problem.
Default Presenter
12/10/2017 11:40:23 AM
Cheryl's Birthday + Logic
Choosing which route to take to work can be explained as an algebraic problem and we use logic in our everyday lives. But just because it’s commonplace it doesn’t mean it is easy. A question from the Singapore and Asian School Math Olympiad, set for 14 year-olds, which went viral as it baffled adults worldwide.
This video explains how you can use logic to deduce Cheryl’s birthday from 10 different options and two different clues
Default Presenter
12/10/2017 9:41:36 PM
Chinese Postman
Remember when you had to do a paper round to earn a bit of pocket money and it seemed to take a decade?
Back in 1960 a Chinese researchers named Kwan Mei-Ko constructed an algorithm to find the quickest way to visit each road at least once.
This video looks at this problem and others in graph theory, a topic under maths and computer science.
Default Presenter
12/8/2017 11:16:45 AM
Football and the Magnus Effect
Can maths make you a better footballer? Find the perfect trajectory for a throw-in, look at the likelihood of winnig teams using statistics, or calculate the perfect curve of a ball in the air.
This video explains the Magnus Effect, or how an object will move through a fluid, the way air spins with a ball, and Newton’s third law of forces.
Default Presenter
12/16/2018 4:16:57 PM
Fractals
How long is the coastline of the UK? In a fascinating paradox, as the unit of measurement decreases, the length actually increases!
This video explains the power of fractals, said to be ‘a way of seeing infinity’, which can be applied to both art and our understanding of medicine.
Default Presenter
12/17/2018 6:53:11 PM
Golden Ratio
Ever wondered who has the world’s most beautiful face? According to mathematics, it’s Amber Heard.
This video looks at the work of Leonardo Fibonacci and how we can use his famous pattern, the Fibonacci Sequence, to explain unusual phenomena from the mating life of rabbits to the architecture of a Greek temple.
The Golden Ratio is seemingly hard-wired into our brains as a guide to beauty. When surgeons mapped facial markers on photos of hundreds of celebrities, the face that most closely fitted the Golden Ratio dimensions, was Amber Heard.
Default Presenter
12/10/2017 7:44:44 PM
Mathematics of Weather
It can be frustrating when weather forecasts turn out to be incorrect.
The differential equations behind weather models look at the rate of change of physical quantities, including wind speed. These equations are so complicated only super computers can find approximate solutions for them.
This video explains the uncertainty involved in our mathematical models of weather forecasts and why it’s so difficult to make accurate short-term predictions.
Default Presenter
12/14/2018 4:50:02 PM
Monty Hall
Did you know you could use maths to double your chances of winning on a television game show?
This video explains the probability behind picking the right door – the one with the prize behind. It discusses the Monty Hall problem and lets you know when to swap doors and when to stick to have the best odds of winning.
Default Presenter
12/10/2017 12:05:47 AM
Network Theory
Across Mexico, law enforcement is vying to take back control of large swathes of the country from drug cartels – and their secret weapon is maths.
This video looks at the method known as ‘Network Theory’, which can be used to identify key connections and target them to break up gangs from the inside. This type of maths is called ‘Social Network Analysis’ and is now implemented by governments all over the world.
Default Presenter
12/8/2017 1:32:38 PM
Prime Numbers
Prime numbers have baffled mathematicians for thousands of years.
This video explains the patterns that prime numbers follow and the Reimann Hypothesis. There is currently a £1 million prize available to the mathematician who can prove it to be true – the prize remains unclaimed.
Default Presenter
12/16/2018 2:27:09 PM
Secret Santa
Not just a fun game to play where everyone gets a gift for someone they have randomly picked, Secret Santa can be a fun maths puzzle you can explore with probability.
For the game to work perfectly, everyone must be anonymous and should have an equal probability of picking a name, excluding their own. This video explains that the probability of each person getting another’s person’s name depends on where they sit and whose turn goes first.
Default Presenter
12/10/2017 4:08:11 PM
The Seven Bridges of Königsberg
In 18th century Prussia, citizens developed a game to see if they could talk a walk crossing all the bridges in the city, but only crossing each once.
This video looks at Euler’s solution to the problem, inspired by the ‘geometry of position’’ which focuses on the study of points and lines. His contribution to Graph Theory is still recognised today.
Default Presenter
12/9/2017 7:04:57 PM
Mediasite Showcase
Mediasite's the trusted cornerstone of any campus or enterprise video strategy. Our unyielding commitment to all things video helps you transform education, training, communications and online events.
Webcasting Video Content Management Video Delivery Integration Services Mediasite Community
Powered By Mediasite - Enterprise Video Platform