For the love of Maths

I am constantly surprised by the many applications in which it quickly becomes the primary tool for solving certain problems: for instance, how many police officers would a city like London need? Not only is the answer a number but the only way in which you can get a reasonable answer to that question, which must take into account millions of people, thousands of crimes, and the network of streets and public transport, is by doing some serious maths.

Why do rivers tend to have a similar shape when they are close to the sea? Why do gossip and fake news spread so quickly? Why are tigers striped instead of being half orange, half black? The world is full of questions for which maths is a powerful tool in trying to answer them.

Chalkdust and the beauty of mathematics

A couple of years ago, we decided to share  - what we consider - to be the beauty of mathematics, to share this passion for finding interesting problems, for encountering yet another application of maths or a puzzle that keeps you thinking in the shower, and so Chalkdust was born.

Along the way, we have had wonderful experiences. We've printed nearly 15,000 copies of our issues which meant we had to carry 2.1 tons of magazines. We have also constructed things with our bare hands (something slightly out of the norm for a mathematician) and we have met some fantastic people, including a few Fields medallists (which is like a Nobel Prize in maths) as well as some celebrities and important politicians working for the Home Office.

For me, one of the best experiences so far was meeting Lulu, a 16-year-old girl, who wanted to write something for Chalkdust but thought that her chances of being published in a magazine produced by PhD and undergraduate students were close to zero. When submitting her article, she said, "I am just a wannabe-mathemagician." Her contribution is, in fact, my favourite article from the 250 plus articles we have published thus far.

If you also share our passion for maths, or if you want to find an interesting application of maths or a puzzle, or if you are also a wannabe-mathemagician, go and find your copy of Chalkdust. We publish a new edition twice a year (both printed and online) weekly articles and a monthly newsletter.

Rafael Prieto Curiel, Editorial Director, Chalkdust Magazine