I’ll be the first to admit, this is a post I wrote mainly to scratch an itch of mine and so may have an audience of approximately 1. Fortunately in my previous life as a physicist I found that approximations can actually encompass many orders of magnitude, so perhaps we’re on to a winner here? Let’s find out.
Continue reading
Forgive me for writing yet again about the weather, but
Of course it remains to be seen exactly how terrible, and in great and unrelenting detail. How better to honour the time-worn traditions of my people?
Continue reading
Here’s a fun question – let’s consider, purely in the abstract, the notion of quickly putting on a lot of weight. If, hypothetically, one were to weigh themselves every day and, conceptually, throw away all of the results which showed an increase in weight, what, in a strictly Platonic sense, are the odds that actually they’re just a fat shit not actually losing any weight?
Continue reading
After my last post, where I noted that 45 degrees was the optimum angle to shoot a projectile the farthest, a commenter asked if the same was true for jumping from a swing. “Of course!” I initially thought. As we shall see, it isn’t actually that simple.
Continue reading
One of the many sad consequences of the current lockdown, possibly the most unfortunate of all, is that the famous Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling competition will almost certainly not be taking place this year. In the spirit of finding light in the darkness, let’s at least have a look at how we may improve it for next year. With maths!
Continue reading
Once again, the world is facing the emergence of a nasty disease. I was last prompted to investigate the dynamics of infection in 2014 during the Ebola outbreak. Here I thought I’d examine a slightly different model to see what, if anything, can be learned.
Continue reading
It’s winter again in the UK which means even more rain than usual, often accompanied by oddly-named storms. Sadly this also occasionally means flooding for many parts of the country, a fact which I usually watched with some detachment from the other (safer) side of a news report. This year is different – I have bought a house quite near the river Avon, which makes the issue more immediate. I suppose I could campaign for flood defences, or petition my new local MP, but for now let’s stick to what I know: data and maths.
Continue reading
It’s been that time of year again, where I am forced to face my one and only weakness: wrapping presents. Rather than confront my failings, I’ve once again turned to my old friends: maths, computers, and bad puns.
Continue reading
I recently got a new phone, and have read online that its camera performance leaves much to be desired. As I bristle at the suggestion I could make a poor purchasing decision, let’s put this to the test. With maths!
Continue reading
Regular readers of this blog will note that 2019 has not been a particularly fecund time for new posts. This is principally due to my getting married recently – typically weddings are events with minimal overlap with the kind of topics I write about here. Unless, of course, one of the people getting married happens to be me.
Continue reading
Almost looks like work 