Adventures in shape and space – and time! A talk by Tom Roper
Annual Sixth Form Lecture
Abstract
Tom became interested in mathematics at school because of a fascination with geometry, but geometry, as in shape and space, means so much more, especially in other subjects. We will begin our adventures with the theorem that small mammals are covered in fur, eat a lot or both, and continue further into biology and other subjects to illustrate that mathematics should not be seen as a subject in isolation but one that reaches out to many other subjects in the curriculum as well as our daily lives.
You can drop a mouse down a thousand yard mine shaft; and, on arriving at the bottom it gets a slight shock and walks away, provided the ground is fairly soft. A rat is killed, a man is broken, a horse splashes.” J.B.S. Haldane, on being the right size.
Tom Roper taught mathematics in schools and colleges for 17 years, before joining the staff of the School of Education at the University of Leeds. He was the President of the Mathematical Association in 2017. He is now retired.
No charge is made to attend meetings. Non-IMA members are welcome.
Download the event poster: Roper, 13Mar19 (pdf)
