Comments on: Dara O Briain School of Hard Sums http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/ Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:44:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Math Club @Home: Dara O Briain School of Hard Sums | OU Math Club http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79409 Math Club @Home: Dara O Briain School of Hard Sums | OU Math Club Fri, 23 Nov 2012 20:25:16 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79409 [...] Apparently the British are keen on maths.  They also have a prime-time TV show which is a comedy math competition.  It’s the fantastic Dara O Briain School of Hard Sums: [...] [...] Apparently the British are keen on maths.  They also have a prime-time TV show which is a comedy math competition.  It’s the fantastic Dara O Briain School of Hard Sums: [...]

]]> By: Rachel m http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79408 Rachel m Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:44:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79408 Dara has a new stand up show called Craic Dealer, I found this clip online where he talks about Technology and it's really funny, check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ0T6E2j3Lo&feature=youtu.be Dara has a new stand up show called Craic Dealer, I found this clip online where he talks about Technology and it’s really funny, check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ0T6E2j3Lo&feature=youtu.be

]]> By: Katherine Parsons http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79407 Katherine Parsons Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:09:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79407 Hi Biff, Thanks for so much your interest in the show. Dave is in fact 50% owned by the BBC. The other half belongs to the US Scripps Channels. Hi Biff, Thanks for so much your interest in the show. Dave is in fact 50% owned by the BBC. The other half belongs to the US Scripps Channels.

]]> By: Richard M http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79406 Richard M Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:30:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79406 Regarding the bridges problem, the optimal solution is to make the bridges wider than they are long. Make them wide enough, and Romeo has a straight line to Juliet. (Positioning is still important; it doesn't help if the first bridge is a mile downstream and the second is a mile upstream.) Regarding the bridges problem, the optimal solution is to make the bridges wider than they are long. Make them wide enough, and Romeo has a straight line to Juliet. (Positioning is still important; it doesn’t help if the first bridge is a mile downstream and the second is a mile upstream.)

]]> By: James Gallagher http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79405 James Gallagher Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:05:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79405 Regarding the plank problem above #13, and to save people trying to construct "simpler" proofs than a projection to a sphere surface, please see the following great article by J L King originally published in AMS Mathematical Monthly (It's his 2nd problem in the list "Tarski's plank problem") http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/22/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=2708 Regarding the plank problem above #13, and to save people trying to construct “simpler” proofs than a projection to a sphere surface, please see the following great article by J L King originally published in AMS Mathematical Monthly (It’s his 2nd problem in the list “Tarski’s plank problem”)

http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/22/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=2708

]]> By: James Gallagher http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79404 James Gallagher Mon, 12 Nov 2012 18:05:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79404 Dara O'Briain has made appearances on the excellent BBC QI quiz show (hosted by Stephen Fry), he is famous for having points deducted an entire series after originally answering a question about triple point of water - a viewer wrote in to the show to complain that O'Briain's answer of zero degrees centigrade wasn't accurate (it should be 0.01)! Dara O’Briain has made appearances on the excellent BBC QI quiz show (hosted by Stephen Fry), he is famous for having points deducted an entire series after originally answering a question about triple point of water – a viewer wrote in to the show to complain that O’Briain’s answer of zero degrees centigrade wasn’t accurate (it should be 0.01)!

]]> By: James Gallagher http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79403 James Gallagher Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:51:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79403 Nice geometry quiz that first one. One of my favourites with a similar remarkably simple solution is: Suppose you have a round hole and several straight planks of varying widths. You must lay the planks over the hole (at any angle, so the planks may overlap) completely covering it with no gaps. Show that the combined width of the planks required must be at least equal to the diameter of the hole. ANSWER (SPOILER) Project the hole and planks onto the surface of a sphere of the same diameter, then each plank covers surface area = 2*pi*radius*(plank width), so the total surface area covered by the planks is at most 2*pi*radius*(combined width of planks) - hence there will be a gap if the combined width of the planks is less than the diameter of the hole since the surface area of the sphere = 2*pi*radius*diameter Nice geometry quiz that first one. One of my favourites with a similar remarkably simple solution is:

Suppose you have a round hole and several straight planks of varying widths. You must lay the planks over the hole (at any angle, so the planks may overlap) completely covering it with no gaps. Show that the combined width of the planks required must be at least equal to the diameter of the hole.

ANSWER (SPOILER)

Project the hole and planks onto the surface of a sphere of the same diameter, then each plank covers surface area = 2*pi*radius*(plank width), so the total surface area covered by the planks is at most 2*pi*radius*(combined width of planks) – hence there will be a gap if the combined width of the planks is less than the diameter of the hole since the surface area of the sphere = 2*pi*radius*diameter

]]> By: Hamish http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79402 Hamish Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:18:22 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79402 Sorry about banging on about the young audience -- but audiences are not always self-selecting at the BBC. There was a discussion a week or so ago about this on the BBC Radio 4 programme "Feedback" and apparently audiences are sometimes chosen for editorial reasons. Age and gender are fields on the ticket application form -- I wonder if the grey-haired bloke lied about his age! I would, if I could hang-out with Dara! Sorry about banging on about the young audience — but audiences are not always self-selecting at the BBC. There was a discussion a week or so ago about this on the BBC Radio 4 programme “Feedback” and apparently audiences are sometimes chosen for editorial reasons. Age and gender are fields on the ticket application form — I wonder if the grey-haired bloke lied about his age! I would, if I could hang-out with Dara!

]]> By: MarcS http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79401 MarcS Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:47:18 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79401 "Could there be a show like this broadcast on TV in the US?" Does it matter? I just watched the first few episodes of this show (and I'll catch up on the rest later) from my home in Chicago. Is it important that the show was created in the UK if I can watch it from anywhere in the world? Does it matter that no major network in the US, or anywhere else, is likely produce this when technology has enabled small companies to create this content and make it available to the whole world? We have the Internet. We have Minute Physics, Vihart, Smarter Every Day, Sixty Symbols, etc. (Those are just from the top of my YouTube subscriptions list, I'm sure we can expand that list here in the comments). We have H+, a well written and produced SciFi video serial on YouTube . Turn off the crappy big budget TV channels and connect your TV to the Internet. Maybe then the crappy big budget TV channels will get the hint. “Could there be a show like this broadcast on TV in the US?”

Does it matter? I just watched the first few episodes of this show (and I’ll catch up on the rest later) from my home in Chicago. Is it important that the show was created in the UK if I can watch it from anywhere in the world? Does it matter that no major network in the US, or anywhere else, is likely produce this when technology has enabled small companies to create this content and make it available to the whole world?

We have the Internet. We have Minute Physics, Vihart, Smarter Every Day, Sixty Symbols, etc. (Those are just from the top of my YouTube subscriptions list, I’m sure we can expand that list here in the comments).

We have H+, a well written and produced SciFi video serial on YouTube .

Turn off the crappy big budget TV channels and connect your TV to the Internet. Maybe then the crappy big budget TV channels will get the hint.

]]> By: Zwirko http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/11/11/dara-o-briain-school-of-hard-sums/#comment-79400 Zwirko Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:43:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=9050#comment-79400 This week's episode of Dara's BBC show "Dara O Briain's Science Club" will be looking at the work of Einstein. This week’s episode of Dara’s BBC show “Dara O Briain’s Science Club” will be looking at the work of Einstein.

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