Take the King's Maths School challengeUPDATE: To read the solution click hereIt's the beginning of term, so let's hear it for King's Maths School, a state sixth form college in London, which topped this year's A-level rankings: 69 per cent of A-levels taken by its students were A*, and 92 per cent were A or A*. Chapeau!The school was founded in 2014 by King's College London, and caters for the mathematically gifted. Each year has about 70 students, of whom 1 in 4 has parents with no history of higher education. About 1 in 3 students progresses to Oxford or Cambridge, a higher proportion than any other school.Add any vowel to the start of a word. i.e. MAZE ->AMAZE.Add any consonant to the end of a word. i.e. CARD -> CARDS.Delete two or more consecutive vowels. i.e. PLEASE ->PLSE.Delete two or more consecutive consonants. i.e. STRING -> SING, RING, ING or STRI.Double the entire word. i.e. AYE -> AYEAYE. Continue reading...

The monument dates to between 4000 and 3000BC and is thought to be the only complete example in BritainBelow the rolling heath on the Isle of Arran's south-west coast, overlooked by harriers and the occasional peregrine, a monument to ancient ceremony is being uncovered.In August, archaeologists working alongside local volunteers began their excavation at Drumadoon of what is almost certainly the only complete Neolithic cursus monument found in Britain. Continue reading...

A new variant and waning immunity mean surveillance that had been wound down since pandemic will be increasedCoronavirus testing and monitoring are set to be scaled up for the winter, the UK's public health agency has said, as pressures on the health service are expected to rise in the coming months.Scientists warned last month that the UK was nearly flying blind" when it comes to Covid, because many of the surveillance programmes that were in place at the height of the pandemic have been wound down. Continue reading...

The broadcaster's first disinformation correspondent spends her time pursuing trolls and dismantling conspiracy theories. In return she is abused, slandered, threatened. She talks about battling cranks, extremists - and Elon MuskOn my way into Broadcasting House, the BBC's London HQ, I saw some graffiti on the building - BBC Covid Liars". I had just finished Marianna Spring's most recent podcast, Marianna in Conspiracyland, and there was something neat and droll about seeing its proposition in real life: Covid hoaxers are real and they are alive with their own righteousness. Not only that, but the BBC is at the centre of their theorising - the supposed public service broadcaster brainwashing the people of the UK.What I didn't know until I met Spring, 27, the BBC's first specialist disinformation and social media correspondent, was that when the graffiti appeared a week ago, posters of Spring's face went up with it. I don't like the way that the huge volume of online abuse spills over into offline action," she says, trenchant but understated. She doesn't want this normalised, for people to think: it's OK to go outside the BBC and leave a message saying, We're outside.'" Continue reading...

Discovered by an amateur astronomer in August, C/2023 P1 is likely to be visible to the naked eye this weekYou may already have read about the recently discovered comet that could become a naked-eye object in September. For those in the northern hemisphere, this is the week it could happen.Hideo Nishimura, a Japanese amateur astronomer, discovered what is now known as comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) on 12 August. Computation of its orbit showed it would make its closest approach to Earth on 12 September at a distance of 78m miles (125m km), just five days ahead of its closest approach to the sun. Continue reading...

DNA evidence examined three years after his false conviction for rape in 2004 was vital in exonerating himThe Andrew Malkinson case highlights egregious failings in the criminal justice system, but also the unique power of forensic scientific evidence to bring about redress.In 2007, three years after Malkinson's conviction and after scientific advances, a new DNA profile was identified from the victim's clothing, which had been securely archived after the original trial. This was crucial to Malkinson's eventual exoneration and could yet help bring the right person to justice. Continue reading...

The idea that you can manifest' your soulmate by raising your vibration', once the domain of New Age spirituality, is common among gen Z social media users. Juliana Piskorz wonders whether to give it a goI've been through my fair share of breakups. In fact, my most recent one was last month. I'll spare you the details but it left me thinking: is there such a thing as the one"? Or is each relationship just a melange of random circumstances and individuals whose compatibility is based on which side of the river they grew up, whether or not they wear ankle socks, and sheer luck? I voice-noted all this to a friend while garnering more than my usual fair share of pitying looks in the Sainsbury's checkout queue and was buoyed when she replied almost instantly: No!!!! ur soulmate is coming, you just need to write your list and raise your vibration."She wasn't referring to my ringtone or propensity to fidget. In the rhetoric of New Age spirituality, every person, object or emotion has its own unique frequency" and in order to manifest something you must alter your own frequency to match the thing you want. Two years ago, this kind of jargon was limited to the eccentric colleague who, after undergoing a toad venom cleanse in Ibiza, decided to retrain as a yoga instructor, grow a rat-tail and extol the anti-ageing properties of snail slime. But since the pandemic, I would be hard pushed to find a friend who doesn't check their vibrations, hasn't Googled their partner's astrological birth chart or used the term my truth" or manifested" at least once in the past month. Continue reading...

Local archaeologists dedicate their lives to protect priceless artefacts from smugglers, Hamas and Israeli attacks in a land at history's crossroadsThere is considerable debate over the origin of the name Gaza. Some etymologists trace it back to azaz, which means strong" in Semitic languages; other accounts believe it derives from the Persian word ganj, which means treasure".It's true that you almost can't move for ancient treasures in the tiny blockaded strip. Fishers, farmers and construction workers regularly uncover elements of Gaza's 5,000-year-old past in the course of a day's work. Continue reading...

Vaccines, available only to high-risk groups, have been brought forward as cases begin to rise and the British winter loomsThe vaccine campaign against Covid-19 has just been brought forward by a month in the face of changes in the disease's behaviour. The decision was made as the UK heads into autumn and has raised concerns that the nation faces a new wave of a disease that triggered a national lockdown three years ago. Here we look at the issues involved and scientists' responses to the threats that lie ahead. Continue reading...

Foundation backtracks on earlier announcement that representatives from Russia, Belarus and Iran would be invitedThe Nobel Foundation has reversed its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year's Nobel awards ceremony in Stockholm after the invitation sparked anger.In 2022, the Nobel Foundation, which organises the annual Nobel prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to the awards event because of the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

This summer, a South Korean lab declared a world-changing breakthrough. Their claims didn't survive scrutiny, but physicists hold out hope for the holy grail of electric efficiencyA possible real solution to the energy crisis" that could change everything". That's how recent headlines billed the mundane lumps of a dirty-looking material known as LK-99 reported by scientists in South Korea in July. Their findings were described in two papers (https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12008 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12037) posted to the arXiv preprint server - a website where researchers present work that has not yet been subjected to peer review. They said they had for the first time in the world" made a superconductor that worked at room temperature and at everyday pressure.A superconductor is a material that can conduct an electric current without any resistance, meaning that no energy is lost through heat. Superconductors have been known about for more than 100 years, but previous ones have worked only at extremely low temperatures or when under very high pressures. LK-99 on the other hand, the South Korean team said, was superconductive just sitting there on a benchtop. If they had been right, the discovery would genuinely have merited the word revolutionary". Continue reading...

India has launched a spacecraft towards the sun in the latest mission of its ambitious space programme. The launch comes a week after the country's successful unmanned moon landing. Aditya-L1 launched with a live broadcast, showing the vessel making its way to the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. The vessel is carrying scientific instruments to study the sun's outermost layers in a four-month journey

As humans encroach further on the natural world, researchers warn that 75% of novel diseases are transmitted from wildlife

An Emirati astronaut, Sultan al-Neyadi, will make history when he completes his six-month tenure on the International Space Station this Saturday, the longest-ever space mission by an Arab man or woman. Neyadi, 42, answered questions from the Guardian in a recorded interview, giving details about his time in space. 'It's our responsibility to deliver the knowledge,' says Neyadi, who regularly posted videos on social media detailing daily life on the space station Continue reading...

Cancer Research analysis shows Britain is beating cancer' but strain on NHS could derail progressMore than a million lives have been saved thanks to a golden era" of progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment in the UK, with death rates plunging by a quarter, according to a study.The Cancer Research UK analysis suggests major advances in tackling the disease over the last four decades have prevented 1.2 million deaths. Continue reading...

Biomarker discovery indicates that sufferers from brain fog and fatigue post-virus could be treated with anticoagulantsScientists have identified molecular signatures in the blood that are linked to brain fog, other cognitive problems and fatigue in patients who are diagnosed with long Covid after catching the virus.Raised levels of two different proteins were more common in people who developed long Covid symptoms that affected their brains, the researchers found. Both are hallmarks of blood clots in the body, the likely cause of the symptoms reported. Continue reading...

Genomics analysis indicates that at least 800,000 years ago breeding individuals sank to as few as 1,300Early human ancestors came close to eradication in a severe evolutionary bottleneck between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, according to scientists.A genomics analysis of more than 3,000 living people suggested that our ancestors' total population plummeted to about 1,280 breeding individuals for about 117,000 years. Scientists believe that an extreme climate event could have led to the bottleneck that came close to wiping out our ancestral line. Continue reading...

Museum-goers to be transported back to 1450BC by odours of oils, resins and beeswax with which noblewoman, Senetnay, embalmedMuseum-goers are to be transported back more than 3,500 years in a sniff after researchers identified and recreated the scent of balms used in the mummification of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman.While mummification may conjure up scenes of bandages and jars, the process was a fragrant affair in which the body and organs were embalmed to preserve them for the afterlife. Continue reading...

Researchers used genetic analysis to identify species that cannot be distinguished by appearance aloneSeven new leaf insect species, known as walking leaves", have been discovered.The insects exhibit a sophisticated twigs and leaf-like" camouflage allowing them to blend into their surroundings without detection, posing a challenge to both predators and researchers. Continue reading...

A rare blue supermoon, the closest full moon of the year, has dazzled stargazers around the world. It was the second full moon of August, thus the blue label. And it was unusually close to Earth, therefore a supermoon. If you missed it, it will be a long wait: the next blue supermoon will be in 2037 Continue reading...

Welcome to the world of rugged wellness podcasts and newsletters, fronted by bearded men with very big shouldersThe concept of wellness is a relatively undermined one by now, if not entirely disgraced - thanks to sterling work from the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop - regarded by many of us with a healthy (not in the Goop meaning of the word) scepticism. If we would like to be well, we would also like not to be taken for suckers, and new entrants into the field must find an approach that, simultaneously, exploits what remains of audience credulity without triggering our kneejerk distrust. Or, to put it in terms framed so ably by Mr Banks in Mary Poppins, wellness these days has to avoid transmitting the vibe that it is still rooted in slipshod, sugary female thinking".Welcome, then, to the world of rugged wellness podcasts and newsletters, fronted by bearded men with large shoulders and Orson Welles scowls, or bearded men with large shoulders and frank open faces, or just bearded men. The prevalence of facial hair in this space is striking and also, I suspect, linked to a desire among providers to indicate maleness straight out the gate. No aromatherapy candles or vaginal eggs here! Just men, offering muscular insights backed by science - science, not vibes! - and a range of behavioural and therapeutic suggestions that have absolutely nothing in common with weedy self-help but, did I mention it, are rooted in science?Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Serving as a two-way electrical superhighway', the vagus nerve - which is actually a pair of nerves - allows for communication between the brain and the heart, lungs and abdominal organs. And because of this, it has been shown to help control things such as the heart rate, breathing, digestion and even immune responses. Now, scientists and health influencers are asking whether stimulating the vagus nerve could transform physical and mental health.Science correspondent Linda Geddes tells Ian Sample about her recent investigation into the hype and science surrounding the vagus nerve, and also whether her own experiment with an allegedly nerve-stimulating device is having any effectClips: TikTok, YouTube Continue reading...

Move in England comes after detection of highly-mutated coronavirus variant that is spreading around the worldHealth officials have brought forward plans for autumn flu and Covid vaccinations after detecting a highly-mutated Covid variant that is spreading around the world.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said vaccinations would be available from 11 September in England as a precautionary measure intended to protect the most vulnerable as the winter months approach. The vaccination programme had not been scheduled to launch until early October. Continue reading...

Differences in technique, speed and risk-taking suggested as reasons for surgery by men leading to more problemsPeople who are operated on by female surgeons are less likely to experience complications and need follow-up care than when males wield the scalpel, according to two major studies that suggest male surgeons have important lessons to learn.Doctors in Canada and Sweden reviewed more than 1m patient records from two separate medical registers and found that patients seen by female surgeons had significantly better outcomes with fewer problems in the months after the operation. Continue reading...

Spot where ancient people scanned the landscape for prey is now farmland near the Devon village of LustleighA stone age viewpoint from which ancient people scanned the landscape for prey has been pinpointed by archaeologists and volunteer helpers on a windswept Devon moor.More than 80 pieces of flint have been recovered during excavations of the spot, which is now farmland near the village of Lustleigh on Dartmoor. Continue reading...

Fungi should be recognised and protected on equal footing with plants and animals, says Fungi FoundationThe word funga" should be used alongside flora and fauna when discussing conservation issues to reflect the importance of fungi to ecosystem health, campaigners have said.The Fungi Foundation said in a post on a social media account of the secretariat of the UN convention on biological diversity (UNCBD) that it was time fungi were recognised and protected on an equal footing with animals and plants in legal conservation frameworks". Continue reading...

Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don'ts of photographing the full super moon

US research casts doubt on anecdotal evidence, but suggests drinking may give you courage' to approach attractive peopleIf you thought beauty was in the eye of the beer holder, think again. Scientists have poured cold water - or rather, vodka - on the existence of beer goggles": the idea that alcohol makes other people appear better looking. However, it may arm you with the liquid courage" to approach attractive people, the research suggests.The term beer goggles" is said to have been coined by male North American university students in the 1980s. Yet despite anecdotal evidence for the phenomenon, the link between alcohol intoxication and physical attraction has not been systematically studied. Continue reading...

After a live roundworm was found in the brain of an Australian woman, we take a look at other unusual casesAfter a live roundworm was found in the brain of an Australian woman, we take a look at other unusual cases of parasites turning up unexpectedly and explore how worried we should be. Continue reading...

Images taken in 1845 of Sir John Franklin and his crew on the ill-fated HMS Erebus and Terror - believed lost until recently - are to go under the hammer at Sotheby's in London Continue reading...

Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian's technology reporter Hibaq Farah about Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency offering users tokens in exchange for a scan of their eyeballs. Farah explains what the motives behind the company are, why they think we all need to become verified humans', and how governments have responded to the projectClips: Worldcoin, DW NewsRead more of Hibaq's reporting here Continue reading...

Guardian Australia picture editor Carly Earl explains the dos and don'ts of photographing the full super moon

Newborns suffered less pain during heel-prick blood tests if they heard a Mozart lullaby, researchers reportPlaying music such as a Mozart lullaby to babies may help reduce their suffering during painful procedures, research suggests.Minor medical procedures such as injections or heel-prick blood tests are commonly performed on newborn infants, and while some people have argued that babies' brains are not developed enough for them to really feel pain, recent research has suggested that they experience it much like adults do. Continue reading...

There's lots of fascinating detail in this documentary about Virgin Orbit's attempt to get Britain into the space race. But like the flight itself, it falls shortEither you know what happened when Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit attempted to pull off the first orbital satellite launch from the UK at the beginning of this year, or it passed you by - although if you are watching a documentary about it, you probably have at least a semblance of an idea that Cornwall has not yet become the new Cape Canaveral. A Very British Space Launch follows the four months before the team's attempt to launch a rocket from Newquay in January.For the most part, it has the same corporate documentary jauntiness that usually accompanies Channel 4's brand-centred shows. It feels like an episode of the 90s documentary Airport, right down to its joker of a manager, an upbeat chap called Steve - although, as this is an aerodrome spaceport, there is a lot more money at stake. Perhaps the makers were hoping it would be called The Great British Space Launch; unfortunately, real life intervened. Continue reading...

Woman complained of forgetfulness and depression before doctors pulled out an 8cm roundworm normally found in pythonsIt was a fairly regular day on the ward for Canberra hospital infectious diseases physician Dr Sanjaya Senanayake, until a neurosurgeon colleague called him and said: Oh my god, you wouldn't believe what I just found in this lady's brain - and it's alive and wriggling."The neurosurgeon, Dr Hari Priya Bandi, had pulled an 8cm-long parasitic roundworm from her patient, prompting her to call on Senanayake and other hospital colleagues for advice about what to do next. Continue reading...

From tedious blind dates to dud clinical trials, the right kind of failure always helpsYou've probably heard the cheerful quotes: Winston Churchill, with his success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm", or CS Lewis, who wrote failures are finger posts on the road to achievement". What about Billie Jean King, who enthused losing a tennis match isn't failure, it's research"? Maybe you find yourself thinking, Sure. Easy to say when you're famous and successful."For most people, failure is pretty simple: it's bad, even shameful. Life is going well if you're not experiencing failures, and we think that avoiding failure is obviously the right goal. We worry about what it says about us when we get something wrong (we're not good enough!). The social stigma of failure exacerbates that spontaneous reaction. Continue reading...

The DeepMind co-founder calls for the containment' of new technology in a heartfelt and candid exploration of what the future may hold for usWhat is it with wave metaphors? Technological determinists - people who believe that technology drives history - love them. Think of Alvin Toffler, who saw the history of civilisation as a succession of three such waves (agricultural, industrial and post-industrial). The idea is of immense power, unstoppable, moving inexorably towards us as we cower before its immensity, much as the dinosaurs must have done when they saw the mile-high tsunami heading in their direction.Mustafa Suleyman says he is not a determinist, but at times he sounds awfully like one. At its heart," he writes at one point, technology emerges to fill human needs. If people have powerful reasons to build and use it, it will get built and used. Yet in most discussions of technology people still get stuck on what it is, forgetting why it was created in the first place. This is not about some innate techno-determinism. This is about what it means to be human." Continue reading...

Small trial of Bemdaneprocel, which aims to replace dopamine-producing neurons, raises hope for treatmentScientists have reported early success in a trial of an experimental cell therapy for Parkinson's disease, raising hope for patients.Bemdaneprocel therapy is at an early stage, and the year-long trial involved just 12 patients, but the positive outcome is viewed as significant after decades of setbacks in the hunt for an effective treatment. Developed by BlueRock therapeutics, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Bayer, it was shown to be safe and the data gave a tantalising suggestion that patients may have benefited. Continue reading...

Beyond the Light, an exhibition developed in a collaboration between the Artechouse gallery in New York and Nasa, explores the universe through immersive technology-driven art. It includes newly analysed data from the James Webb space telescope Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bees may be source of pollen near remains but evidence still suggests bodies were buried with careBuried in a partial foetal position and surrounded by flower pollen, the discovery of Shanidar 4 - a Neanderthal skeleton unearthed in 1960 - prompted a dramatic reappraisal of our ancient cousins.Far from being brutish thugs, the Shanidar flower burial, as it became known, painted a picture of Neanderthals as empathic beings who cared enough for their dead to scour the mountains for funeral bouquets. Now, fresh evidence suggests this interpretation may have been incorrect - although Neanderthals may still have had strong funerary rituals. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: The country's lunar landing was a triumph. This is how it quietly built a successful mission Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Last week India became the fourth ever country to land a spacecraft on the moon, and the first to touch down successfully near its south pole. It was hailed as a success for budget" missions, with the project costing 60m, less than half of the 131m it cost Christopher Nolan to make his 2014 space epic, Interstellar. Continue reading...

Earlier detection means more successful treatment - but also a drain on resources for an already creaking health serviceThis month, it was reported that England's existing screening programme for bowel cancer for 60 to 74-year-olds had prevented 20,000 cases of bowel cancer over the past 10 years. This comes amid an ongoing effort in England to extend bowel cancer screening to those aged between 50 and 59. And in June, the NHS national director for cancer welcomed a new blood test currently being trialled in the UK that can detect 50 types of the disease.More cancer screening seems like unqualified good news: generally, the earlier cancer is diagnosed, the higher the chance of successful treatment. However, there are harms that come with screening, too, both for people being screened and for the NHS as a whole that should be mitigated against. I am certainly not discouraging people from taking up screening offers, but expansion of screening programmes must come with concrete plans about delivery. This requires extra NHS fundingand capacity. Continue reading...

Lunar spectacle also qualifies as a blue moon by some definitionsThe second full moon of the month occurs this week. The first took place on 1 August, but this second coming will grace the skies on 31 August.Because it is the second full supermoon in the month, it is also called a blue moon - although definitions for blue moons vary. The above definition is known as a monthly blue moon but some prefer what is known as a seasonal blue moon. This is the third full moon in a season that contains four full moons - so the blue moon may not be the second of the month. Continue reading...

Research presented to annual meeting of European Society of Cardiology prompts calls for actionUltra-processed food significantly raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, according to two studies that one expert says should serve as a wake-up call for governments worldwide.Global consumption of heavily processed items such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food has soared in recent years. In the UK and US, well over half the average diet now consists of ultra-processed food (UPF). For some, especially people who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPF is typical. Continue reading...

Unique research shows cardiovascular gains recorded in patients who were shown TV comedyThe old adage that laughter is the best medicine" may contain an element of truth when it comes to heart health.A study has demonstrated that having a chuckle causes the tissue inside the heart to expand - and increases oxygen flow around the body. Continue reading...

The success of Chandrayaan-3 goes well beyond providing images from the moon's south poleI let out an involuntary whoop when it landed," my friend Shivansh told me. He was travelling on London Underground at the time. Everyone on the tube was staring at me."Shivansh is just one of millions of Indians all over the world who are celebrating the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar exploration mission. Indians even broke YouTube's record for livestreams, with more than 8 million people staying glued to their screens last Wednesday, as the spacecraft edged close to the lunar surface. The excitement is understandable, especially considering the fact that just four years ago, the preceding Chandrayaan lander crashed into the moon after a software glitch. Continue reading...

In sniping at failures' on Covid, the former MI6 chief is reinforcing a false messageThe former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove is no stranger to the intricacies of intelligence. But it was his comments about intelligence of the artificial kind, and about science, on the One Decision Podcast, which he co-hosts, that generated a flurry of interest last week. Reacting to grave warnings from some scientists over potential dangers of AI, Dearlove professed scepticism, reasoning that such dire predictions cannot be taken overly seriously given the failures of scientists on Covid. Such comments betray a common and insidious confusion over what science is and how it should be interpreted, and risk emboldening scientific denialists.Part of the error stems from a mistaken conflation of science" and scientist". Science is not an arcane collection of dogma but an active and systematic method of inquiry. Science pivots on making testable predictions, which are updated as new findings emerge, to reflect the totality of evidence. Scientific positions are always transient, subject to revision when stronger evidence emerges. All scientific knowledge is provisional, therefore scientific advice is prone to change and can evolve at dizzying speeds during periods of intense discovery. Continue reading...

Ethical questions - not least, about risks to the donors - have been ignored in the excited coverage of this British medical breakthroughGood news stories can feel few and far between these days. The pace of progress means they are often medical; there's always new life-saving and life-changing treatments on the horizon.Perhaps that explains the breathy excitement with which the UK's first womb transplant was reported last week - transferred from an older sister who has had children to a younger sister with a rare condition that means she could not otherwise carry a pregnancy. Articles were packed with quotes from doctors heralding this as a profound development, the dawn of a new age", according to the chair of the British Fertility Society.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Fifty years after the UK sent its first satellite into space, a Scottish town is among rivals vying for another shotA large band of battered metal has been placed on a stand at the entrance of Skyrora's rocket manufacturing hall in Cumbernauld in central Scotland. Six feet in diameter, the loop is perforated, torn and twisted, a result of being blasted into space and then dropped on to the Australian outback where it has lain for almost 50 years until its recent recovery.The ring is part of the remains of Britain's only satellite launch, which took place on 28 October 1971 when a Black Arrow rocket placed a Prospero probe into orbit round the Earth. The programme was cancelled the same year. Continue reading...

My wife wanted to plan a week of dinners but I preferred to leave room for disorder. Mathematical thinking helped us combine our different approaches to lifeIn the black and white yin-yang symbol of Chinese philosophy, the yin represents disorder and the feminine, while the yang represents order and the masculine. In my married life the gender stereotype is reversed. My wife is order and I am chaos. She wants to plan what we are having for dinner every night for the coming week. I feel there isn't much point thinking about it, because what if we want to take the kids swimming one evening or meet up with friends?"Our differing approaches have led to a few animated discussions (to say the least) and it was after one of these that I started to think about chaos theory: the mathematical theory behind the parable of the butterfly and the storm that gives rise to the so-called butterfly effect - the idea that the flap of the wing of a butterfly in the Amazon can set off the atmospheric events that lead to a storm off the coast of Texas weeks later. Perhaps, I thought, I can prove that planning is pointless. That disorder is inevitable and we might as well accept our lack of control. Continue reading...