Article Date: 19 March 2015
Article Date: 19 March 2015
The lectures included "The Man Who Cannot Lose" in which Dr Matt Pritchard showed us winning strategies for games such as Guess Who and Rock, Paper Scissors using mathematical probabilities and reasoning to prove the outcomes aren't just as simple as pot luck!
Dr Hannah Fry introduced us to the notion that we may not be as free-thinking and individual as we like to believe we are. She showed how her research into the mathematics of friendships and networks maps out lots of herd-like behavior that makes humans surprisingly predictable - something we learned could be very useful when catching criminals. Other highlights included dodging flying boomerangs and discovering how the bouncing bomb of the Dam busters worked. Alongside, a lovely sunny day, surprisingly pleasant coach journey and wonderful students made the day a great success.
Report by Samual Marshall and Verity Forster
The day started particularly early, we arrived at school at a brisk 7:30 and waited outside the six form for the bus to arrive. When we got on the bus everyone was rather excited (not just because we miss a school day) we all knew that the day was guaranteed to be interesting and we would come home more knowledgeable then we previously where. The bus journey took roughly two hours, we spent that time rummaging through our pack lunches and waving at passing drivers, it wasn’t the most enjoyable thing however we entertained ourselves and we all knew that it was going to get better.
When we did arrive at the university we found out that we were a good 45 minutes early, so to fill up that gap, we explored the building and accustomed ourselves with the facility's at other, even if that did include a costa hot chocolate. We were all introduced to the man running the conference, by now there where a good few other schools sat down above and around us.
The first speaker explained the maths behind the patterns in society. For example, how information is passed round and looking at how people are connected. Next speaking to the students was an Australian mathematician who talked to us all about gyroscopes and boomerangs, giving most people a fright by launching a boomerang around the conference hall. Then after a quick break the students were back in for another two speakers. Third to speak was a mathematician who had a couple of tricks up his sleeve. After wowing the audience with some magic tricks he then told us the maths behind party games, working it so that Bailey Manthorpe, who boldly volunteered, could win. Afterwards we had a speaker tell us about maths within nature, using an example of the Cicada Flies and the fittingly named Cicada Killing Wasps which inhabit Stratton Island in America. Cicada Flies only appear every 17 years and the speaker explained to us essence of maths behind the long life cycle. They come out every 17 years to avoid being eaten by the Cicada Killing Wasp; they have actually used maths through natural selection, adapting their life span to outlive the wasps which only live for a total of around four months. The end of the day was extremely unexpected and one of the greatest things we have ever seen, we learnt about fluid dynamics from an Oxford Professor, which involved him solving a problem using soap bubbles, then we were at the end of a lecture about vibrations at right at the very end, this man who was easily in his 60 picked up an electric guitar, and honestly blew the roof off the place. Everyone came away from the day having learnt so much about how maths is integrated into everyday life and enthused by what we had seen. The students on the trip would like to offer a huge thank you to Mrs Puleston for arranging the visit and to all the staff that accompanied us on the trip.
The day was fascinating, they covered so many diverse topics which we primarily didn't think had anything to do with math's, With a total of five speakers each covering something completely different to the others, we were spoilt for choice as to which one enticed us the most. From a range of insect life spans, to how to precisely measure a coast and a spot of math's magic here and there. Not only did it profoundly interested us, it gave us a whole different prospective on math's, little things that you wouldn’t normally give a second thought where actually show to their true light and the unbelievable complexity and intricate mathematics behind them. It all sounds very variegated, however they displayed it in a simple, and quite frankly fun way, we learnt so much and as well as that, actually socialized with a lot of different people from variety of schools. At lunch time we were approached by a group of boys from a London school, who came to show us a magic trick with a pack of cards, even though he wasn’t the next dynamo, it was nice to meet some new people. We think everyone would agree with us when I say that I would happily return.
