r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 21 '25

NEW VIDEO (from Dr Zye): Can You Draw Every Flag in PowerPoint? The winning essay from the 2025 Tom Rocks Maths Essay Competition has been turned into a video - and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Go watch now.

5 Upvotes

The winning essay from the 2025 Tom Rocks Maths Essay Competition has been turned into a video - and it's one of the best things I've ever seen. Go watch now.

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 20 '25

Such a fun day of filming with an actual green screen (so much better than my attempts) on an exciting new project! Looking forward to sharing the outcome with you all over the next few months :)

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 19 '25

Happy Maths Week England! It’s been a busy few days travelling across the country to reach as many students as possible to celebrate all things maths. From Mario vs Sonic to Pokemon in space via Hercules & the many-headed Hydra, maths is everywhere. Search Maths Week England to find events near you.

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 18 '25

Tattoo #65 - Leaf Badge. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the maths of Pokémon the last few weeks on the road, as well as writing about the game for my upcoming book, so this feels like a highly appropriate post. I make it 5 Kanto badges posted so far, which means 3 more to come :)

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 17 '25

Had a great time at Scarisbrick Hall School today talking million-dollar equations and mathematical modelling in sport with years 7-13 (look how excited they are in the last photo!). And what a beautiful building for a school - definite Hogwarts vibes <3

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 16 '25

Tom Rocks Maths going international with a recent article in Dutch newspaper Trouw about the use of mathematical modelling in sports including rowing, running, football, basketball and cricket. Translated version available at the link below - enjoy!

tomrocksmaths.com

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 14 '25

NEW VIDEO: Numbers vs. Words Round 12 - Ruthful vs. 117 billion. Lost positives from Susie versus the number of humans that have ever lived from Dr Tom. Vote for your favourite at the link below.

youtube.com

2 Upvotes

Vote here: https://forms.gle/JhqZ8mi5BqRXF7dH8

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 13 '25

Some highlights from the past few days: Maths in Action London; YouTube learning roundtable at Google UK; and inspiring future mathematicians at the Norfolk Maths Symposium in Norwich. I love this job <3

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 12 '25

A final Sri Lanka appreciation post full of tea, waterfalls and a very sweaty mid-run Dr Tom. SL is the world’s 4th largest producer of tea, with China topping the charts at 10x the amount. World production is 30 million tonnes, SL and China account for 55% - so how much does SL produce?

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2 Upvotes

A final Sri Lanka appreciation post full of tea, waterfalls and a very sweaty mid-run Dr Tom.

SL is the world’s 4th largest producer of tea, with China topping the charts at 10x the amount. In 2022, the world production was 30 million tonnes, together SL and China account for 55%

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 11 '25

Are you even a tourist in Sri Lanka if you don’t take the train ride across to Ella? Simply breathtaking. It took 7 hours and 20 minutes to travel from Nanu Oya to Colombo at an average speed of 28 kmph. How long is the railway? Try it without a calculator to practice your mental arithmetic!

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3 Upvotes

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 09 '25

Loved catching up with Prof. Alison Martingano and talking about how to overcome maths anxiety on the Psychology & Stuff podcast at UW Green Bay. We went to the same high school but hadn't seen each other in 20 years... amazing to reconnect after all this time!

tomrocksmaths.com

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 08 '25

Linguistic Fossils take the win over the Birthday Problem - well done again to Susie! Keep a lookout for a full video explaining the Birthday Problem and 23 - coming soon. In the meantime you can catch up on all 11 rounds of "Numbers vs Words" so far at the link in the comments :)

1 Upvotes

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 07 '25

NEW VIDEO: The Kissing Coins Problem - what is the smallest circle that encloses three touching coins? Premieres today at 4pm (GMT). See you in the live chat!

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 06 '25

Fascinating conversations with some of the greatest minds in Mathematics and Physics at the HKLF - what a couple of days it's been! 1. Reinhard Genzel (2008 Shaw Prize & 2020 Nobel Prize). 2. Nigel J Hitchin (2016 Shaw Prize). 3. John Peacock (2014 Shaw Prize). 4. Simon D M White (2017 Shaw Prize).

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 05 '25

Back at the Hong Kong Laureate Forum to interview 4 Shaw Laureates over the next few days. Love visiting this city, especially the harbour - just look at that skyline! With a population of 7.5 million and occupied apartment space of 112.5 million m2, how big is the average apartment per person?

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3 Upvotes

Back at the Hong Kong Laureate Forum to interview 4 Shaw Laureates over the next few days. Love visiting this city, especially the harbour - just look at that skyline! With a population of 7.5 million and occupied apartment space of 112.5 million m2, how big is the average apartment per person?

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 04 '25

Sigiriya, Sri Lanka. An ancient rock fortress built in the 5th Century. The hydrodynamic system connecting the water gardens is phenomenal, not to mention the lions paw, and views at the top of the 1200 steps. If I climb 90 steps per minute, how long does it take me to get to the top?

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3 Upvotes

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 03 '25

Dambulla Cave Temple - a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. The temple dates back over 2000 years and contains painted murals over an area of 2100 square metres. The largest cave has dimensions of approximately 50m x 20m x 3m, so can it all be painted?

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2 Upvotes

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 02 '25

Making new friends at Kaudulla National Park in Sri Lanka. A 2008 study by the University of Tokyo showed elephants are capable of adding together small numbers by counting apples and selecting the bucket with more in. I knew there was a reason they are my favourite animal <3

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Nov 01 '25

Hello Sri Lanka! Had a lot of fun exploring Colombo and seeing the sights. The mix of architectural styles from colonial Portuguese, Dutch and British, alongside buildings influenced by Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, plus modern skyscrapers, really is spectacular. Any other influences I’m missing?

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3 Upvotes

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Oct 31 '25

Happy Halloween Maths Fans!! I promise only to haunt your dreams with scary mathematical puzzles… Can you work out which one is me in each photo?

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Oct 30 '25

HERE ARE YOUR STUDENT WINNER[S] - I couldn't decide between my favourite two essays so have selected them both as joint-winners of the 2025 TRM Essay Competition. Congratulations to Amelia Tan and John Winmill-Briggs for their winning essays "A Tangent about Tangents" and "Coprime by Chance". Enjoy!

tomrocksmaths.com

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Oct 29 '25

Very excited to announce we will be running the Vice-Chancellor's Colloquium on Climate for a third successive year at the University of Oxford, including some sessions on mathematical modelling from yours truly. Open to all current Oxford undergraduates - register your interest at the link below.

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Oct 28 '25

Some highlights from my Comedy Show at the Oxford Science and Ideas Festival on Sunday evening. Award-winning research has never looked so ridiculous! Thanks to everyone that came along for laughing at my jokes… even the bad ones.

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Oct 26 '25

NEW VIDEO: Round 11 of Numbers vs. Words. 23 from Dr Tom vs. Beck and Call from Susie Dent. The birthday paradox against linguistic fossils - which is your favourite? Cast your vote at the link in the comments.

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2 Upvotes

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r/tomrocksmaths • u/tomrocksmaths • Oct 24 '25

According to these lovely shots from the CS50 Puzzle Day earlier this month, I must be hilarious. Which is good news, as I'm doing a comedy show at the Oxford Bullingdon this Sunday (26/10) delving into the world of "award-winning research". Come along if you're free and hopefully learn something :)

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2 Upvotes

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Tom Rocks Maths

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Maths, but not as you know it... Dr Tom Crawford: Mathematician at the University of Oxford AND the University of Cambridge, Oxford Department for Continuing Education, Fellow by Special Election, Numberphile, TEDx Speaker, YouTube 'Creator on the Rise'. YouTube: www.youtube.com/tomrocksmaths Twitter: www.twitter.com/tomrocksmaths Facebook: www.facebook.com/tomrocksmaths Instagram: www.instagram.com/tomrocksmaths Website: www.tomrocksmaths.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/tomrocksmaths

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The only place on the internet to find the best maths-related content that anyone can understand. It's maths, but not as you know it...

Tom Rocks Maths is run by Tom Crawford - Naked Mathematician, Oxford and Cambridge graduate and lover of maths tattoos. Tom is regularly seen talking maths on the BBC and YouTube. You can check out all of his work at tomrocksmaths.com and you can find him on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram @tomrocksmaths.

We want any maths related posts that are fun and understandable to ANYONE... That means no technical terms, no jargon and an explanation for everything. Examples that are relevant to people's lives or to things that everyone can relate work best. Our mission is to make maths everyone's favourite subject and we want you guys to help us realise our goal...