Let it (Not) Burn I think my first memory of cooking involves burning pasta. Bronze DofE practice expedition, some random field in Cerne Abbas in Dorset, and camping stove that looked like it had seen war. All I had to do was boil pasta, and I can vividly recall the dawning realisation that I had … Continue reading Measuring by Eye
MatheMagics
Six Arms, Infinite Outcomes: how snowflakes balance symmetry and uniqueness
There's a claim about snowflakes that's repeated so often it starts to feel axiomatic: no two are alike. It's one of those facts that sits quietly in the back of your mind. You don’t question it. You just accept it, file it away, and move on. I don't remember where I heard it first, but … Continue reading Six Arms, Infinite Outcomes: how snowflakes balance symmetry and uniqueness
Why is A4 Paper… A4?
It’s getting to that time of the semester again, the part where your brain is somewhere between tired and trying its best, and every test paper starts to look the same. And sometimes, when I’m staring at an exam I’m meant to be focusing on, my mind wanders into questions that have nothing1 to do with the module I’m sitting. The other day, one such thought hit me: why is this sheet of paper, this exact A4 sheet in front of me, the size it is? Why 297 × 210 mm? Why not a nice round 300 × 200? Why not squares? A4 is everywhere from worksheets, lecture notes, problem sheets, printer trays, so if we use it constantly, surely there must be a reason for its exact shape. And even then, what does the ‘A’ even stand for in A4? Are there B4s and C4s? (Spoiler: Yes)
Now You See It: The Wonder of Lenticular Printing
Showing up to lectures early comes with perks beyond just getting good seats. Most mornings on my way in to one of the lecture halls, I walk past one particular poster (the thumbnail of this post) which captures the beautiful shifting image of particle collision. Until recently, I'd never really thought about how or why that happened, or that process even had a name: lenticular printing. Inevitably, it had to become one of my posts, and true to form, here's my attempt at explaining it without it (hopefully) sounding like a boring Physics textbook.
On the Statistical Properties of the Paranormal Distribution
It was around this time, three years ago, that I first heard the words "Paranormal Distribution" on a Teams call. So in the spirit1 of Halloween, here's a brief exploration of the Paranormal Distribution, a (super)natural extension of the Gaussian model that describes data unexplainable by conventional statistics. The normal distribution, or Gaussian curve, underpins … Continue reading On the Statistical Properties of the Paranormal Distribution
Catenaries in the Wild: From Spider Webs to Suspension Bridges
There's something really nice when you look at the curve in all these photos. You can see it in the power lines, the arc of a chain, or if you've ever looked closely enough, a spider web. Part of the inspiration for this post goes to my chaotic but lovely FM Mechs class where we … Continue reading Catenaries in the Wild: From Spider Webs to Suspension Bridges
Becoming a ‘Mathemagician’: The 27 Card Trick
I love a deck of cards. It's amazing to think about all the things that can be done with cards- from card games to building a house of cards to just shuffling mindlessly. One of my absolute favourite things1 is learning and performing card tricks. There's something deeply satisfying about sleight-of-hand tricks which can leave … Continue reading Becoming a ‘Mathemagician’: The 27 Card Trick
Maths Rant 