37 episodes

Maths at: the Movies is a twice-monthly podcast that celebrates, critiques and laughs at all the movies that have ever tried to portray the beauty of logical thought on the silver screen.
Helping to untangle the presented numerical mysteries are the scatter-brained mathematicians, Dr Thomas E. Woolley (Cardiff University) and Dr Ben M. Parker (University of Southampton), whilst the voice of the interested observer is ably supplied by The Wonderful Liz. The general knowledge of the hosts will also be supported by special guests with specific expertise.

Maths at‪:‬ Thomas E. Woolley, Ben M. Parker, The Wonderful Liz

    • Science
    • 4.4 • 9 Ratings

Maths at: the Movies is a twice-monthly podcast that celebrates, critiques and laughs at all the movies that have ever tried to portray the beauty of logical thought on the silver screen.
Helping to untangle the presented numerical mysteries are the scatter-brained mathematicians, Dr Thomas E. Woolley (Cardiff University) and Dr Ben M. Parker (University of Southampton), whilst the voice of the interested observer is ably supplied by The Wonderful Liz. The general knowledge of the hosts will also be supported by special guests with specific expertise.

    Maths at: The FUTURE!

    Maths at: The FUTURE!

    Back to the future. There's no maths in it. We just wanted to watch a good film. I suppose we should talk about it too.   In today's programme:we travel through time at a rate of 1 second/second. is Harry Potter better than Back to the Future?how do the laws of physics change when we're moving?all our knowledge is guided by the wonderful Naomi Wray. Further reading: book your tickets to the Back to the Future The Musical; is time travel complicated? Take a look at this infographic and learn about 3 Theories of Time Travel;have a glimpse at Hannah's programme partying with Steven Hawking;watch Kip Thorne present on black holes at Cardiff University. Subscribe via iTunes. Follow us on twitter @PodcastMathsAt, as well as @ThomasEWoolley and @benmparker. Hannah has one of those new-fangled instagrams.

    Maths at: Easter

    Maths at: Easter

    When is Easter? I literally have no clue. Today's Maths at: justifies this ignorance!   In today's programme:we fail to do basic arithmetic;should you use Salad Cream at Easter? Thomas loses his mind. Further reading: So... when is Easter?Check your ethical compass. Subscribe via iTunes. Follow us on twitter @PodcastMathsAt, as well as @ThomasEWoolley and @benmparker. Hannah has one of those new-fangled instagrams.

    Maths at: Wordle

    Maths at: Wordle

    It's like the last day of school, because we are playing games!Wordle,Guess who,Hangman.Never has maths been so much fun. Further reading: Guess who fanfic What is the best Guess Who strategy?Three blue One Brown’s strategy for Wordle.Can you solve the longest word ladder? Subscribe via iTunes. Follow us on twitter @PodcastMathsAt, as well as @ThomasEWoolley and @benmparker. Hannah has one of those new-fangled instagrams.

    Maths at: The Number 23

    Maths at: The Number 23

    Did you know that:the Earth tilts at 23 degrees on its axis? (Well it's actually closer to 23.5 and degrees are an arbitrary unit of measurement); 2 divided by 3 is 0.666 recurring? (Although if you round it properly it would be 0.667, which is the Devil's next door neighbour); if you rearrange the letters in "The Number Twenty Three" you get "This is all Hogwash"? Isn't numerology incredible? This week we watched Joel Schumacher's 23rd film: "The Number 23", starring Jim Carrey. And we ask, perhaps, the most important question of all - was this film actually a secret sequel to Ace Ventura Pet Detective? We're through the looking glass here people!  If you're interested in watching The Number 23 then please recondsider watching Paddington (one or two, they're both good.) Your regulars, Thomas and Ben are joined by Hannah Veale and you can either tickle your eyeballs and/or your ear drums. We're so good to you. Further reading: How do you spot a conspiracy theory?James Grime demonstrating Benford's law in an everyday paper.??? Subscribe via iTunes. Follow us on twitter @PodcastMathsAt, as well as @ThomasEWoolley and @benmparker. Hannah has one of those new-fangled instagrams.

    Maths at: Bitcoin

    Maths at: Bitcoin

    It is with a heavy heart that we have to inform all of our viewers and listeners that The Wonderful Liz, otherwise known as Lydia Menzies passed away in late 2020. Lydia, by her own choice, wanted to be enigmatic. So although you gained glimpses into her past career as a school teacher you rarely got insight into the funny, passionate and ebullient life that she lived. Which is a great shame, because her impact on the lives around her was tremendous. So much so that she even received tributes in the house of commons from Angus MacNeil and Jacob Rees-Mogg. A fundraising page for Breast Cancer Now was set up in her honour and we hope that you are able to donate whatever you can to this cause. This podcast covers the maths of bitcoin and guest stars one of Lydia's oldest friends, Duncan Coutts, who is currently developing one of the bitcoin alternatives. Did we learn what bitcoin is?Or did we just start to question all money?Join us in Lydia's final podcast. We hope you enjoy it. Further reading: What on earth is Haskell? If you can't donate money to a cancer charity then perhaps you could donate your time through  fundraising? Subscribe via iTunes. Follow us on twitter @PodcastMathsAt, as well as @ThomasEWoolley and @benmparker.  

    Maths at: Long-tailed tits & Lovelace

    Maths at: Long-tailed tits & Lovelace

     TITS! Tits. TiTs... TIIIIIIITS,(tits)t...i...t...sYup, we we've found our level. This week we're joined by the wonderful (soon to be doctor) Natasha Ellison (good luck, Natasha!), from the Unviersity of Sheffield and she takes us on a whirlwind tour of her thesis results of where you should look for tits in a forest and how the mathematics stems from understanding wolf pack dynamics. Alongside our ecological leanings we also discuss Augusta Ada King, or Ada Lovelace to her friends. Tuesday 13th October marks Ada Lovelace day. As one of the first ever computer programmers to exist why not crack open your favourite programming language and have a go at saying:HELLO WORLD! Further reading: Follow Natasha on twitter; Learn more about Ada Lovelace day;How to say Hello World in 28 different programming languages. Subscribe via iTunes. Follow us on twitter @PodcastMathsAt, as well as @ThomasEWoolley and @benmparker.  

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
9 Ratings

9 Ratings

Richard777200 ,

Lydia

Thank you for your tribute to our wonderful friend, Lydia, a.k.a. the lovely ‘Liz’ - she also once went by ‘Lisa’ but that’s a story for another time. So many aliases!

I have been listening back to your podcasts as a way to hear her voice, and I am grateful for the means to do so. Thank you.

PS I stand with every word of her case for Mean Girls as a maths movie! Truly, the limit does not exist.

Owen Lean ,

Maths at: is brilliant

And I don’t even understand maths

Thomas Woolley ,

I'm happy

It's been a long time coming, but I'm happy with the end result.

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