On a cold December night in 1976, a group of mathematicians assembled in a room in Trinity College Dublin for the inaugural meeting of the Irish Mathematical Society (IMS). Most European countries already had such societies, several going back hundreds of years, and it was felt that the establishment of an Irish society to promote … Continue reading The Social Side of Mathematics
Tag: Ireland
Changing Views on the Age of the Earth
In 1650, the Earth was 4654 years old. In 1864 it was 100 million years old. In 1897, the upper limit was revised to 40 million years. Currently, we believe the age to be about 4.5 billion years. What will be the best guess in the year 2050? [TM217 or search for “thatsmaths” at irishtimes.com]. Ussher's Chronology … Continue reading Changing Views on the Age of the Earth
John Casey: a Founder of Modern Geometry
Next Tuesday - 12th May - is the 200th anniversary of the birth of John Casey, a notable Irish geometer. Casey was born in 1820 in Kilbeheny, Co Limerick. He was educated in nearby Mitchelstown, where he showed great aptitude for mathematics and also had a gift for languages. He became a mathematics teacher, first … Continue reading John Casey: a Founder of Modern Geometry
Learning Maths without even Trying
Children have an almost limitless capacity to absorb knowledge if it is presented in an appealing and entertaining manner. Mathematics can be daunting, but it is possible to convey key ideas visually so that they are instantly accessible. Visiting Explorium recently, I saw such a visual display demonstrating the theorem of Pythagoras, which, according to … Continue reading Learning Maths without even Trying
Learning Maths has never been Easier
Maths is hard: many people find it inscrutable and have negative attitudes towards maths. They may have bad memories of school maths or have been told they lack mathematical talents. This is unfortunate: we all have the capacity to apply reasoning and logic and we can all do maths. Given the vital role mathematics plays … Continue reading Learning Maths has never been Easier
Robert Murphy, a “Brilliant Meteor”
“A brilliant meteor that flared intensely but all too briefly”; this was how Des MacHale described the Cork-born mathematician Robert Murphy in his biography of George Boole, first professor of mathematics in Cork. Murphy was a strong influence on Boole, who quoted liberally from his publications [see TM118 or search for “thatsmaths” at irishtimes.com]. Robert Murphy was … Continue reading Robert Murphy, a “Brilliant Meteor”
The next Hamilton
William Rowan Hamilton was Ireland's greatest mathematician. His name is heard thousands of times every day throughout the world when researchers use the Hamiltonian function that encapsulates the dynamics of a vast range of physical systems. He achieved fame early in life and remains one of the all-time great scientists. [TM099, or search for “thatsmaths” at … Continue reading The next Hamilton
Computers Speaking in Irish
Most of us use computer terminals, tablets and smart phones, absorbing information quickly and easily. How do the many thousands of Irish people who are blind or visually impaired manage to interact with computers? For them, entering data by keyboard or voice is easy, but special software is needed to convert the text on screen … Continue reading Computers Speaking in Irish
Who Needs EirCode?
The idea of using two numbers to identify a position on the Earth's surface is very old. The Greek astronomer Hipparchus (190–120 BC) was the first to specify location using latitude and longitude. However, while latitude could be measured relatively easily, the accurate determination of longitude was more difficult, especially for sailors out of site … Continue reading Who Needs EirCode?
The Faraday of Statistics
This week, That’s Maths in The Irish Times ( TM044 ) is about the originator of Students t-distribution. In October 2012 a plaque was unveiled at St Patrick's National School, Blackrock, to commemorate William Sealy Gosset, who had lived nearby for 22 years. Sir Ronald Fisher, a giant among statisticians, called Gosset “The Faraday of … Continue reading The Faraday of Statistics
Euclid in Technicolor
The article in this week’s That’s Maths column in the Irish Times ( TM039 ) is about Oliver Byrne's amazing technicolor Elements of Euclid, recently re-published by Taschen. Oliver Byrne (1810–1890), a Victorian civil engineer, was a prolific writer on science. He published more than twenty books on mathematics and several more on mechanics. The … Continue reading Euclid in Technicolor
Ireland’s Fractal Coastline
Reports of the length of Ireland's coastline vary widely. The World Factbook of the Central Intelligence Agency gives a length of 1448 km. The Ordnance Survey of Ireland has a value of 3,171 km (http://www.osi.ie). The World Resources Institute, using data from the United States Defense Mapping Agency, gives 6,347km (see Wikipedia article [3]). Fractals … Continue reading Ireland’s Fractal Coastline
ThatsMaths 