It is quite difficult to compile a list of fictional mathematicians, but at Plus we have given it a go. Scientists are often portrayed in films — usually as mad — but there are very few who are specialised mathematicians. We think we have come up with a list that covers most well-known fictional mathematicians, although it is debatable whether some are even mathematicians at all! We are asking for your opinion — who is your favourite?

The link to the poll is here

Have we missed yours off the list? Please leave a comment here or on the blog

$50000 Turing Controversy

To kick things off, one of the most current mathematical debates is over the concept of a Universal Turing Machine. The 50-year old mathematical problem has thrown up enormous debate in the last month, and its resolution is worth no less than $US 25000.

The half-century quest to find the simplest possible universal Turing machine was thought solved by 20-year old Birmingham undergraduate Alex Smith, who provided a 40-page proof that Wolfram’s 2,3 Turing machine is indeed universal.

However, this result, and the $25,000 Wolfram 2,3 Turing Machine Research Prize, is now being seriously debated.

Professor Emeritus Vaughan Ronald Pratt, one of the earliest pioneers in the field of computer science, has questioned the proof in a non-to-subtle way by saying:

“Not wanting to push my luck I’ll settle for one question. How did an argument containing such an elementary fallacy get through the filter? [...] Had I pushed my luck my second question would have been, who has verified this proof that has taught an automata theory course at a suitably accredited institution?”

You can read more on Plus in this article on the topic

The competition is kindly supported by the Maths, Stats and Operational Research Network, a Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, and the London Mathematical Society. The competition will be judged by three prominent mathematicians and science writers.

There are three categories: secondary school and sixth form students, university students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) and the general
public.

If you think you can share your passion for maths with the general public, download your entry pack today and get writing!

For more information and the entry pack, go to the competition homepage

To start off, the Plus Podcast brings you the latest news from the world of maths, plus interviews and discussions with leading mathematicians and scientists about the maths that is changing our lives. Each episode is about 15
minutes long.

You can subscribe to the podcast by searching for “Plus” in itunes, by subscribing to our podcast feed, or by downloading the mp3 files from the links below.

Four podcast episodes are now available for download.

Podcast 4, November 2007: Leonard Euler and maths communication

300 years since Leonard Euler’s birth – from the York Science Festival

We talk to Professor Chris Budd about the greatest mathematician of all – Leonard Euler. We also talk about maths communication, maths in the food industry and the best mathematical pickup lines.

Podcast 3, October 2007: Women in mathematics

We visit the European Women in Mathematics conference and talk to two leading mathematicians, Caroline Series and Cheryl Praeger.

Podcast 2, October 2007: The geometry of viruses

Reidun Twarock finds symmetry in viruses and tells us about the maths used to understand them. This podcast comes from the BA Science Festival in York.

Podcast 1, August 2007: Breaking the ice

We talk to Shahn Majid about a whole new geometry of space, find out about how mathematics is combating climate change, as well as all the latest news from the world of maths.

More information about the podcast can be found on the Plus podcast site

4000 years of numbers
How did numbers arise? How were they written down? What does it mean to say that numbers are rational, complex, or transcendental? What is a number, anyway, and why did it take thousands of years to provide an answer?

7 November, 1pm

But then, maybe it’s not that surprising. The media, even the science media, tend to keep a safe distance from maths, carefully circumnavigating it even if it lies at the heart of the work that’s being reported on. Mathematics is all too often characterised as a tool and measured by its applications.

This may sound like a complaint against the media, but it’s not. In truth, it can be very difficult for journalists, even science journalists, to obtain information about maths. While news about newly proved theorems and other advances spread like wildfire among mathematicians, there are hardly any channels that bring them to the attention of the wider world. In contrast to other scientists, most mathematicians, especially those working in pure maths, would never dream of putting together a press release or contacting the media about a new result. They simply are not aware that anyone outside their field might be interested, partly because such interest is seldom voiced by the media. Apart from Plus magazine there are hardly any publications that summarise maths news in a way that is accessible even to other mathematicians working in other fields, let alone to mainstream science journalists.

As a popular mathematics magazine we’d be very interested to hear your view on maths and the media. Are you a mathematician frustrated by constant non- or misrepresentation? Are you a non-expert desperately trying to find accessible information about mathematics? Do you have a specific maths question? Or would you like to point others to some particularly good maths coverage? Whatever it is, we’d really like to hear from you.

Let us know your thoughts on maths and the media here.

This group is designed to share knowledge, ask questions and generally ponder the topic of mathematics.

It is brought to you by Plus Magazine – the award winning online mathematics magazine.

So to start off on the introductions, we are Plus. We aim to introduce readers to the beauty and the practical applications of mathematics. Plus provides feature articles, which describe applications of maths to real-world problems, games, and puzzles; reviews of popular maths books and events; a news section, showing how recent news stories were often based on some underlying piece of maths that never made it to the newspapers; a puzzle for you to sharpen your wits against; a lucky dip of mathematical curiosities; and opinions on various maths-related topics and news stories.

We have also just started up a podcast in which we interview the world’s greatest mathematicians. We have a regular interview with someone in a maths-related career, showing the wide range of uses maths gets put to in the real world. And all past issues remain available online, which besides making for good browsing is, we hope, a useful resource for maths school students and teachers.

Plus started life under the name of PASS Maths (Public Awareness and Schools Support for Maths) in 1997, when it was a project of the Interactive Courseware Research and Development Group, based jointly at the Universities of Cambridge and Keele.

Plus is now part of the Millennium Mathematics Project, a long term national initiative based in Cambridge and active across the UK and internationally. The MMP aims to help people of all ages and abilities share in the excitement of mathematics and understand the enormous range and importance of its applications to science and commerce. It works to change people’s attitudes to maths, to act as a national focus for renewing and improving appreciation of the dynamic importance of maths and its applications, and to demonstrate the vital contribution of maths to shaping the everyday world.

Plus is co-edited by Marianne Freiberger and Marc West (Rachel Thomas is on maternity leave), with Robert Hunt as executive editor.