Omar Khayyam and the assassins

18 September, 2017 Antonio J. Durán0

Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) was a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and poet; we have already dedicated an entry in this blog to his poetic compositions, the rubaiyat, Rubayat of Omar Jayyam. Here we will explore his relationship […]

Mathematicians who are worth money

19 June, 2017 Pedro J. Paúl2

Many countries honour the memory of their scientific personalities on postage stamps. There are many websites devoted to this; one of the most comprehensive, in the case of mathematics, is Images of Mathematicians on Postage […]

Abel, Nobel, Fields

29 May, 2017 Pedro J. Paúl0

The recent award of the Abel prize to Yves Meyer, for his crucial role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets, brings back to the fore the periodic debate on the ‘mathematics Nobel […]

Pi and the Nazis

15 March, 2017 Antonio J. Durán0

(published in El Cultural, supplement of El Mundo on the occasion of Pi Day) In my first year as a mathematics student, one of the teachers defined the number \(\pi\) in a rather fanciful way. The […]

Play it again

13 February, 2017 Antonio J. Durán0

Although it is now a long time ago, Máximo Pradera was famous at the turn of the millennium as co-host, together with Fernando Schwartz, of the TV show Lo+Plus. The two of them made a […]

Kepler and freedom of speech

23 January, 2017 Antonio J. Durán3

In recent months, there has been a steady stream of disputes in Spain over the limits of freedom of speech. In April 2016, two puppeteers were directly imprisoned for several days on charges of glorifying […]

Rubaiyat of Omar Jayyam

19 December, 2016 Antonio J. Durán3

Omar Khayyam was a fascinating Persian mathematician, poet, astronomer, astrologer and philosopher who lived between the 11th and 12th centuries. The figure of Khayyam could be the subject of dozens of posts. I will devote […]