Mathematics, Music, Art, Poetry, Dance — It’s All Patterns
Mathematics, music, art, poetry and dance may seem like separate worlds, but beneath the surface they share a common language: patterns.
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Why Writing Things Down Makes You Better at Mathematics (And Why Teachers Insist on Showing Your Working)
Anyone who has spent time in a maths classroom will have heard the instruction: “Show your working.” For many students, this feels unnecessary. If they believe they can do the calculation in their head, writing it down seems like extra effort. But writing is one of the most powerful thinking tools humans have ever developed….
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The History and Evolution of the Plus (‘+’) Symbol in Mathematics
The plus sign (+) is one of the simplest, most universal symbols in the world. We see it on calculators, spreadsheets, medicine bottles, social media (“+1”), programming languages, and in every branch of mathematics. It looks trivial — two intersecting lines. But those two lines carry a story that runs through medieval manuscripts, merchant bookkeeping,…
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Calculators and A Christmas Carol: What the Past Teaches Us About Arithmetic
It was Christmas Eve. Bob Cratchit, hunched over his ledger in the dim light of the counting house, had more to contend with than the tyranny of Ebenezer Scrooge. There was another, quieter brutality woven into his working day—one so familiar it barely registered as a problem at all. Non-decimal currency and mixed-base arithmetic. All…
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The Learning Animal: How Evolution Made Humans the Only Species That Must Be Taught
Humans are the only species born unfinished — dependent, fragile, and endlessly teachable. Our helplessness at birth isn’t a flaw; it’s our greatest evolutionary advantage. From toolmaking and fire to language and mathematics, this essay explores how evolution made us the learning species — and why struggle, not comfort, is the forge of true understanding.
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The Invention of the Timetable: How the Railways Reshaped Time — and Humanity
“Those who cannot keep time are not lost — they are simply the last people still living in it.” 1. When Time Was Felt, Not Measured Before the timetable, time was alive.It bent, breathed, and followed the body’s pulse.Farmers rose with light, artisans worked until the day grew dim, and people met when everyone arrived…
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MathsConf39 London: Back to Where It All Began 8 Years Ago
Complete Mathematics do something truly phenomenal for education. They bring mathematics teachers who live and breathe teaching under one roof. Thanks to this network, my teaching has been utterly transformed in the last 8 years. In 2017, I nervously went to my first ever maths conference, #MathsConf10 knowing no one. I have now attended 20 in-person…
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Teaching Maths Through Stories: Why the History of Mathematics Matters
“What other subject is routinely taught without any mention of its history, philosophy, thematic development, aesthetic criteria, and current status? What other subject shuns its primary sources—beautiful works of art by some of the most creative minds in history—in favor of third-rate textbook bastardizations?” — Paul Lockhart, A Mathematician’s Lament That quote sums up exactly…
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The Price of Revelation: Why Beauty and Transcendence in Mathematics Requires Pain
Siddhartha Gautama, the man who would become the Buddha, was born a prince in ancient India. His father, the king, shielded him from all suffering, hoping he would become a great ruler. Siddhartha was raised in palaces, surrounded by pleasure, beauty, and comfort. He was protected from illness, aging, death, and anything unpleasant. But as…
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Learning mathematics is not a race, no such thing as “being left behind”
In the bizarre stillness of May 2020 when the streets were silent, schools were closed, and ‘zooming’ was all the rage, I put my thinking cap on and cooked up something I thought could help. I combined my livestreaming chops from music with deep experience in online tutoring, alongside a community of teachers I’d met…
