book link
books

Books

I've written or co-written eleven books, some of which have appeared in several languages. The majority are about the maths of everyday life, but I've also written books on cricket, memory and creative thinking.

talks-and-radio

Talks & Radio

I give talks to adults and children that range from small interactive workshops to keynote lectures in front of several hundred. I've also done lots of radio, including BBC Radio 4, 5Live, Radio 3 and 2, but not 1 or 6...yet.

maths-and-puzzles

Maths & Puzzles

I love any maths that contains surprises especially when it's connected to everyday life, from lottery coincidences to teabags, and from rugby kicks to Derren Brown's mind control.

Recent Blogs

King Richard III
10 May 13

Fifteen 'descendants' of Richard III want a say in where he is buried. What about the rest of us? more...


Meta Blog
5 April 13

I've had three blogs published in The Times and Guardian recently. More details here... more...


How much does it cost to cross the road?
15 March 13

Innocently pressing the button at a pedestrian crossing brings several cars to a halt. What's it cost in wasted petrol? more...


Introducing…ZEQUALS
18 February 13

The government wants ten year old children to be able to do long division calculations such as 8384 / 27. That might take a less able ten year old almost half a lesson to work out. Much better to have a way of coming up with a good estimate of the right answer – which is where Zequals comes in. more...


The Lincoln Index
25 February 13

The Lincoln Index is nothing to do with predicting Oscar winners, but is in fact a neat way of estimating how mistakes there are in a book after proof-reading it. more...


IN PRAISE OF THE OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
10 February 13

There was a time, maybe as recently as ten years ago, when every office and school had cupboards full of overhead projectors. Then came Powerpoint and Smartboards, and most institutions happily threw out these space-hungry devices. more...


Recent Tweets

Hint for earlier puzzle: I spent the day with a great group of teachers near Hastings.

1 day ago

Some years turned upside down still form numbers eg 1681->1891 (diff 210). Which year in history had biggest difference from its inverse?

1 day ago

Now that MoreOrLess has debunked RyanAir's punctuality boasts, maybe they'll try this to board passengers faster: http://t.co/yIbLLy68ad

1 day ago

The deeply moving story of Laurie Engel (born 21 yrs ago) http://t.co/DXg9dvt1bc and the fund in his memory http://t.co/WvUG30BTZO

2 days ago

Heading to meeting with @colinthemathmo to brainstorm jazz, juggling and patterns. I hope wearing a suit won't stifle my creative juices.

2 days ago