Termcard for Trinity Term 2003

Tuesday 1^st Week

“Fermat’s Last Tango”
In 1993 Andrew Wiles stunned the world when he announced a solution to
“Fermat’s Last Theorem,” the famous unsolved mathematics problem set forth
by Pierre de Fermat in 1637. In the musical Fermat’s Last Tango, the
fictional character Daniel Keane earns overnight acclaim when he presents
his findings. However, fanfare soon gives way to doubt when the
reincarnation of Fermat discovers a hole in Keane’s proof. The singular
pursuit by Keane to correct this flaw results in a love triangle involving
himself, his wife, and mathematics – the story of which is brought to life
by Fermat and his immortal friends from the “AfterMath,” namely:
Pythagoras, Euclid, Newton, and Gauss. The musical is both a cheerful romp
through history and a personal confrontation with destiny. It provides a
testament to the extraordinary excitement of mathematics and a tribute to
its unparalleled beauty.

Tuesday 2^nd Week
Dr Martin Edwards (Queen’s College)
Triples
The talk will show why binary multiplication is unnatural.

Sunday 4^th Week

Trip to Blenheim Palace
Fancy a trip to the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace? We will meet at 10am at
Gloucester Green bus station to catch the 10.13 bus to Woodstock. Admission to
Blenheim Park costs £2.50 and includes Blenheim Park, Butterfly House,
Herb and Lavender Garden, Marlborough Maze, Adventure Play Area and rides on the
train. It is an extra £3.50 to visit the formal gardens or you can pay
£10.50 for admission to the Palace, including the tour, Sir Winston
Churchill Exhibition, Park, Gardens, Butterfly House and train. We will explore
the gardens before lunch, and then have a picnic together (bring your own food
and drink). After lunch everyone will be able to go their own way.

Tuesday 4^th Week
Prof. Roger Heath-Brown (Magdalen)
Perfect Numbers
A number N is said to be perfect if it is the sum of its divisors, including 1
but excluding itself. Thus 6=1+2+3 is perfect. We will look at their history
from Euclid, through to the computer age.

Tuesday 5^th Week

Member’s papers
If you wish to speak please email the secretary (David Newman @ Jesus) in advance.

Tuesday 7^th Week

Problem solving
The meeting will be an opportunity to go through the questions from this year’s
Archimedeans’ Problems Drive.

We are also planning to arrange a croquet match against the Archimedeans,
Cambridge University’s mathematics society; more details will be forthcoming.