Stratocaster helps explain magic of maths

MATHS WEEK:AN ELECTRIC-guitar playing Oxford mathematician will entertain teenagers in Limerick this morning.

Dr David Acheson of Jesus College Oxford wields his red Stratocaster to demonstrate one of physics' most important rules, the wave equation, used to describe the vibration of a stretched string among other things.

"Sixth-formers do tend to respond well to the guitar, although frankly I think they are just astonished someone of 62 can do anything. But my purpose is deeper," he says.

Dr Acheson says his view of mathematics can be summed-up in six words: wonderful theorems, beautiful proofs and great applications.

He will also demonstrate how mathematics can be used to explain some magic tricks. Mathematics, Magic and the Electric Guitartakes place at the University of Limericks Concert Hall at 10.30am (Contact: 061-233725).

You may remember chanting Pythagoras' theorem at school while studying right-angled triangles. "The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides," was how it went.

A workshop exploring how the theorem is actually put to use will be delivered by Dr Brendan McCann at Waterford Institute of Technology at noon. (Contact: 051-302037)."You get a lot of people in their fifties and sixties, really bright people, who feel they can't do maths. Maybe thats because they got a few slaps for getting things wrong," said Dr McCann. "Words like 'hypotenuse' do put people off, straight away youre into mystification. As a mathematician, I prefer a2+b2=c2, but unless you know the formula that could be even more Greek than the Greek terminology itself," he says.

Dr McCann describes it as the most widely-used piece of intellectual property ever created. "Its like the engine thats running the whole thing, mathematically."

Daily logic puzzle:Mary makes a €5 bet with Pat that she can guess that a coin will be harps. She sets the rules: Pat must drop two €1 coins on the table and cover them so that Mary cant see them. Pat must look at them and if both coins are harps, Pat is to shake them up and drop them again. If the coins are NOT both harps, Pat must slide out a coin showing the map side. Mary bets Pat €5 that the covered coin will be harps. Pat agrees because he thinks it's fair because the hidden coin has an even chance of being harps or maps. So why is Mary smiling? ( Answer tomorrow)

Answer to yesterdays puzzle:3 purple, 5 orange and 7 pink.