Fortnightly postings
Every week was becoming a bit too much
You’ll probably have noticed that I haven’t been able to keep up my initial weekly offering since taking a break at Christmas. Writing something substantial and well researched each week really is hard work (on top of my day job).
Nevertheless I’m still keen to keep sharing mathematical insights with you all, so I’m going to try to post something roughly every two weeks (although I might be a bit more flexible with the timings).
I’m hoping to post something next on the International Day of Mathematics: Pi Day on March 14th (known as 3/14 to Americans).
In the meantime you can have a look back through the archives:
COVID Inquiry: Lessons on the importance of independent scientific advice
The reporting of some of the evidence from the UK’s Covid Inquiry this week has felt a little bit like a circus. Chief political correspondents have been drafted in to covering the drama, as civil servants and special advisers (SPADs) at the heart of the Johnson government have been summoned to give evidence. Understandably, the reporting has tended to …
Did the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine really only decrease the risk of covid by 1.2%?
A multi-million pound landmark “vaccine damage” case is set to take place in the high court. The test case is being pursued by Jamie Scott who suffered a severe brain injury in April 2021 after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.Thanks for reading Kit Yates - Math(s) and the real world! Subscribe for free to rece…
Nullius in verba - take no-one’s word for it
This week saw Patrick Vallance give evidence at the Covid Inquiry. The headline grabbing story was probably his testimony that SAGE were not consulted about the, now infamous, Eat Out to Help Out scheme (more of which in this excellent substack by Christina Pagel
Why time seems to go by faster as we get older
When we were children, the summer holidays seemed to last forever, and the wait between Christmases felt like an eternity. So why is that when we get older, the time just seems to zip by, with weeks, months and entire seasons disappeari…
Imperial Rule(d out)
Over Christmas Rishi Sunak’s Government quietly and unceremoniously dropped proposed plans to legislate for the large-scale increased use of the imperial system in the UK. They tried to hide the humiliating…
We need to talk about linearity
This is how it starts. “If Jane pays £5 for ten grapefruits, how many grapefruits does she get for £50?” Answering the question, it transpires that the idealised world of mathematics is the only place you can buy 100 grapefruits and no-one bats an eyelid.
And I’ll be back in touch next week.
It was the Leap year post, wasn't it - took too much out of you!!