Professor Robin Wilson, with the Oxford University Mathematical Institute, has created a series of short films (10-20 minutes) for schools, each featuring one of the equations from his recently published OUP book ‘Sum Stories: equations and their origins’. These films can be viewed on the Oxford Maths YouTube channel. Aimed at schools and the interested general public, they are designed to ‘spread the word’ about mathematics and its history. All 18 equations from the book are being filmed, as a component of Robin’s current appointment as a HiMEd (History of Mathematics in Education) lecturer. Equations 1-7 are available so far; it is anticipated that all 18 equations will be online by the summer.
Oxford University has three 2-minute maths puzzles extracted from the films on its Outreach channel, on ‘The spider & the fly’, ‘Tying a string around the Earth’, and ‘Fibonacci’s rabbits’; there will soon be a fourth one on ‘Perfect numbers’.