# Brain finds true beauty in maths

From BBC: Brain finds true beauty in maths. A quote:

Brain scans show a complex string of numbers and letters in mathematical formulae can evoke the same sense of beauty as artistic masterpieces and music from the greatest composers.

Mathematicians were shown “ugly” and “beautiful” equations while in a brain scanner at University College London.

The same emotional brain centres used to appreciate art were being activated by “beautiful” maths.

The researchers suggest there may be a neurobiological basis to beauty.

The study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience says,in partucular, that

The formula most consistently rated as beautiful (average rating of 0.8667), both before and during the scans, was Leonhard Euler’s identity

$$1+e^{i\pi}=0$$

which links 5 fundamental mathematical constants with three basic arithmetic operations, each occurring once; the one most consistently rated as ugly (average rating of −0.7333) was Srinivasa Ramanujan’s infinite series for 1/π,

$$\frac{1}{π}=\frac{2\sqrt{2}}{9801}\sum_{k=0}^\infty \frac{(4k)!(1103+26390k)}{(k!)^4\cdot 396^{4k}}$$

which expresses the reciprocal of π as an infinite sum.

Other highly rated equations included the Pythagorean identity, the identity between exponential and trigonometric functions derivable from Euler’s formula for complex analysis, and the Cauchy-Riemann equations. Formulae commonly rated as neutral included Euler’s formula for polyhedral triangulation, the Gauss Bonnet theorem and a formulation of the Spectral theorem. Low rated equations included Riemann’s functional equation, the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways, and an example of an exact sequence where the image of one morphism equals the kernel of the next .

- See more at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00068/full#sthash.7b7Pdf5a.dpuf

# EMPG 2014: Call for papers

You are cordially invited to attend the 2014 European Mathematical Psychology Group Meeting (EMPG 2014), held at the University of Tübingen, Germany, from Wednesday, July 30, 2014 until Friday, August 01, 2014.

Presentations

Proposals for paper and poster presentations as well as proposals for symposia related to all aspects of mathematical psychology are welcome. Relevant topics include:

• perception and psychophysics
• models of cognition and learning
• knowledge structures
• measurement and scaling
• psychometrics
• computational methods
• statistical methods
• mathematical models

Important dates

• Abstract submission opens:  soon
• Abstract submission closes:  April 30, 2014
• Notification of acceptance:  May 15, 2014
• Early registration deadline:  June 06, 2014
• Start of conference: July 30, 2014
• End of conference: August 01, 2014

Invited Symposia

Symposium in honor of Jean-Claude Falmagne celebrating his 80th birthday (organized by Michel Regenwetter and Jean-Paul Doignon).

Invited speakers

Andrew Heathcote, University of Newcastle, Australia
Ehtibar Dzhafarov, Purdue University, USA

For further information please consult the website of the EMPG 2014 (www.uni-tuebingen.de/psychologie/empg2014).

# 2014 Alan Turing Cryptography Competition

## Registration is now open for the 2014 Alan Turing Cryptography Competition which starts on Monday, 27 January 2014.

Now in its third year, and organised by the School of Mathematics of the University of Manchester, this successful competition is open to secondary school children up to Year 11 (England and Wales), S4 (Scotland) and Year 12 (Northern Ireland). It is a great way for children to make use of their mathematical and problem-solving skills whilst having fun.  In addition, there is the opportunity to win some great prizes, which have been sponsored by the flight search company, Skyscanner. Skyscanner was set up by two former computer scientists from the University of Manchester, two people who directly benefitted from Turing‘s contributions to Manchester and computing.  People outside the age range can also take part, but they won’t be eligible for any prizes!

The competition follows the story of two young cipher sleuths, Mike and Ellie, as they get caught up in an adventure to discover the Lovell Legacy.  Every week or two weeks a new chapter of the story is released, each with a cryptographic puzzle to solve.  There are six chapters in total (plus an epilogue and just-for-fun code to conclude the story).  Points can be earned by cracking each code and submitting the answer.  The leaderboard enables the teams to keep track of how well they are doing.

New for this year is the Alan Turing Cryptography Day, to be held in the School of Mathematics  of the University of Manchester on Wednesday, 30th April 2014.  We anticipate plenty of code-breaking action, a live cryptography mini-challenge and a prize ceremony for the competition winners.  It’s not to be missed!

### To register

Further information and registration details can be found at:

# Rebecca Hanson: 2014 Primary Mathematics Curriculum is Not Fit for Purpose

Re-posted from Authentic Maths.

Rebecca Hanson:

Following the writing of my first report on the 2014 Primary National Curriculum in December I have been corresponding with the key people involved in its development.

As a results of their comments I have written a second report which calls for the immediate suspension of the implementation of the 2014 Primary National Curriculum for Mathematics. This new report dated 6 Jan 2014 can be downloaded here: Fundamental Problems with the 2014 Primary National Curriculum for Mathematics.

The press release which accompanies this report can be downloaded here:
Call for Suspension of New Primary Mathematics Curriculum.

6 JAN FAULT: If you experience problems downloading the report an alternative version (without hyperlinks) can be downloaded from the Times Educational Supplement site.

# International Conference on Mathematics Textbook Research and Development 2014

International Conference on Mathematics Textbook Research and Development 2014

University of Southampton, UK, 29-31 July 2014

Conference themes:

• Textbook research (concepts, issues, methods, directions, etc.)
• Textbook analysis (characteristics, treatment of contents and/or pedagogy, etc.)
• Textbook comparison or historical studies
• Textbook use (by teachers, by students, and/or by other parties)
• Textbook development (presentation, task design, publishing, policy matters, etc.)
• Integration of ICT in textbooks (including e-textbook)
• Other disciplines in maths textbooks & maths in textbooks of other disciplines
• All other relevant issues about mathematics textbooks

Conference papers to be published in electronic proceedings
Opportunity to be considered for an edited book under negotiation with a major publisher.

# A pardon for Alan Turing

Alan Turing has been granted a posthumous pardon, overturning his 1952 conviction for homosexual activity. Making the announcement, the British Justice Minister Chris Grayling commented “Turing deserves to be remembered and recognised for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science. A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man.”

This has given rise to the most extensive national and international media
coverage of Alan Turing and his legacy ever.

Internationally the response has been predominantly positive – Peter van
Emde Boas caught the mood with his “Congratulations with this success; it
doesn’t make the UK any less strange however… “. The fact the pardon
was 61 years coming was universally commented on.

In the UK, many were unhappy with the word ‘pardon’ wanting something recognised that the fault was that of the state. Everyone was concerned about others who had had lives ruined by the same law – and, like Turing, had died before they or their families could benefit from the recent legislation, which enables those living to apply to have their convictions ‘disregarded’ and wiped from the records. Here is the Stonewall guide to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (relevant to many of the “75,000 others” – in some places “50,000 others” – widely commented on):
http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_home/hate_crime_domestic_violence_and_criminal_law/8064.asp

The Cambridge Student webpage nicely captured the mood “Alan Turing’s pardon is simply not enough”, and got the facts right:
http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/comment/0031341-alan-turing-s-pardon-is-simply-not-enough.html

Many first heard the Royal Pardon news via radio or TV on Christmas Eve – for instance on the BBC Today programme that morning, with JohnHumphrys interviewing Baroness Trumpington and Barry Cooper:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25503464

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01nxh88

Baroness Trumpington was specially generous in her praise for Lord Sharkey, whose private members bill introduced in the House of Lords played such a large part in the eventual outcome. See also the BBC page “Royal pardon for codebreaker Alan Turing” with further videos: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25495315

Other Christmas Eve interviews included Sue Black in one for The Telegraph “Alan Turing’s Royal pardon is long overdue”: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10536644/Alan-Turings-Royal-pardon-is-long-overdue.html

And Barry Cooper’s interview for Sky TV News in the afternoon:

http://www1.maths.leeds.ac.uk/pure/logic/computability/BarryTalks/sky24_12_13.mov

You can also hear Barry interviewed on BBC Radio 3 Counties by Roberto Perrone (thanks to the BBC and Mark Cotton) at the Alan Turing Year AudioBoo webpage: https://audioboo.fm/AlanTuringYear

# Citizens’ Maths

Citizen’s Maths is a MOOC project funded by the Ufi Charitable Trust. It
is led by Calderdale College with CogBooks, the Institute of Education,
and OCR.

http://goo.gl/RexVLv is a call for maths teachers to express an interest
in working with Citizens’ Maths as “to camera” tutors.

The deadline for responses is Thursday 5/12/2013.

Please spread the call as widely as you wish.

# Reformed GCSE subject content consultation – Government response

From the Department for Education:

Following the GCSE subject content consultation that closed on 20 August 2013, the Secretary of State has today published revised subject content for English language, English literature and mathematics, as well as the Government’s response to the consultation. The Secretary of State has also made a Written Ministerial Statement, which can be read here.

Ofqual has also published reforms to the design requirements for new GCSEs, including on arrangements for controlled assessment, tiering and new grading. Its summary of these reforms can be found here.

# “Robbins Revisited” by David Willets

The Rt Hon. David Willetts MP has just published a pamphlet with the Social Market Foundation called Robbins Revisited: Bigger and Better Higher EducationHere are quotes where he mentions mathematics.

Women are still under-represented in sciences (maths and physics) and the applied sciences (computing, engineering, technology and architecture), but the margin has narrowed from the 1960s when only three per cent of students studying “applied science” were women. (p.26)

We want scientists with an awareness of historical context; historians with the maths to handle statistics; mathematicians who can speak another language. (p.50)

Nonetheless, there is an important distinction to be made between the need for breadth in general, and the need for maths skills in particular. In an interview with The Listener in 1967 Robbins was asked why the numbers opting for applied and pure sciences had fallen below expectations. He blamed what he called “the terror of mathematics”, caused by poor teaching and a preoccupation in university maths departments with producing “aces”.

This issue has not gone away. Last year the Lords Science and Technology Committee expressed its shock that many Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduates lacked the mathematical skills required to cope with their course at university. The National Audit Office has warned that this is an issue for student retention (pp. 50-51)

Maths is a core part of science and engineering subjects – but it comes into many others. As Liz Truss argues with great passion, it is the universal analytical tool which matters more and more in today’s higher education. It matters to the politics student who has to grapple with difficult statistical data, or the nursing student performing a drug calculation. And after leaving university many graduates will find themselves faced with numerical reasoning tests when competing for jobs. Yet only 16 per cent of undergraduates studying subjects other than maths have an A-level in maths under their belt. Often they will have forgotten much of what they once knew, and even if they haven’t, their confidence in their own abilities may be low. (p.51)

This is why Michael Gove’s moves to ensure that everyone continues some level of mathematical study until the age of 18 are so important. Another important initiative is “sigma”, a Hefce funded project. It is establishing approachable maths support services at institutions across the country. Thanks to their work, politics students suddenly confronted with a regression analysis have someone to turn to. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) undergraduates too are receiving expert support to bring their maths skills up to speed. (p.52-52)