By Adeline G, Year 10 Journalist Leader

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘maths?’ I’m guessing festivals, AI and gambling aren’t the first things that come to mind! Recently, Year 10 participated in a series of talks, Maths Inspiration, at the Cambridge Theatre, where we listened to an experienced group of mathematicians discuss a variety of unconventionally mathematical topics.

The session was led by the multitalented comedian-mathematician Matt Parker, who guided us from one speaker to the next.

The first talk kicked off with Rob Eastaway asking us all ‘Are You Smarter Than AI’? 

Rob experimented with several logical problems, testing whether ChatGPT was able to solve them, with surprising outcomes! It solved a simple sequence of letters (like A E I M Q ?) with ease and self-assurance. However, when presented with another sequence (C H A T G P ?) it resolved there was no connection between the letters, and any confidence it had deteriorated as soon as it was corrected. 

Afterwards, in a bizarre experiment led by Aoife Hunt volunteers were tied to one another with rope and made to walk up and down the stage! This was not as bizarre as it first seemed; calculating the walking speed of people in close proximity was revealed to be useful in estimating the speed of evacuation during a festival! This talk was on ‘the maths of crowds’, and was as entertaining as it was enlightening.

The last speaker, Ben Sparks, placed a risky bet with an audience member. He betted two people in the front five rows would share a birthday. The other person lost the bet when it was revealed they had been tricked; the probability was around 99%! (Luckily, they received a Kit Kat to compensate for their loss.) This talk cautioned us on the perils of gambling, and unexpectedly concluded with Ben giving us an excellent live performance of Sting’s Shape of My Heart, using a guitar which had been lurking on the stage throughout the talk.

Things concluded with a Q&A along with an opportunity for calculator signing (the equivalent of book signing, but for mathematicians). Overall, it was a great experience to see maths applied beyond the classroom, put into a variety of fascinating and unique contexts!