In response to huge demand, we filmed a series of Maths Inspiration for release on DVD. All these DVDs feature friends of Maths Gear  and maths people we love!

This disc is all about games, magic and algebra.

Ages 13-16

Games with a Twist

Rob Eastaway plays a series of entertaining and unusual games with teenagers to show how maths can give you the edge when it comes to strategy and winning money.

Mathematical Magic

Andrew Jeffrey demonstrates five amazing magic tricks that feature calculators, some rope, and the trick that fooled Einstein, and explains the simple algebra behind them.

Approximately 90 minutes.

You can also get the entire box set here for just £50. That's a saving of \(16.\overline{6}\%\).

The Presenters

Rob Eastaway - Best Selling Maths Author

Andrew Jeffrey - Magician and Teacher

What Rob and Andrew have to say about learning maths.

Rob:

I liked it mainly because I was good at it.  While at school I discovered mathematical puzzles, and I LOVED those.

Which was your favourite bit of maths at school?
Probability.  In those days we didn’t encounter probability until about Year 9.  I immediately saw its connection with games, so to me it was play rather than work.

Has maths ever helped you get out of a difficult situation?
An energy salesman tried to convince me that 5% off gas and 5% off electricity meant 10% off my energy bill.  I gave him a maths lesson and he went away with his tail between his legs.

Has maths ever helped you win anything?
I was playing ‘Play Your Cards Right’ in a pub with a jackpot of £200.  I turned over an ‘Eight’ and for the next card the crowd were baying for me to say LOWER – but I card counted and realised the odds were slightly above 50-50 if I chose HIGHER instead.  I was right and won the jackpot.  It was 80% luck and 20% maths skill.

What did you do at university?
Engineering Science, but I specialised in Operational Research, which is like applied puzzle solving.

What’s your favourite number?
9376.  If you square it and look at the last four digits you’ll discover why.

What do you like APART from maths?
Playing sport (especially cricket, golf and table tennis), playing the piano, and playing games with my kids. And did I mention cricket?

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I’m half Australian and I love Sydney, but actually if I had to live somewhere full time it would have to be England, either London or Manchester.

If you could give one maths tip to a 15 year old, what would it be?
Learn a technique called Zequals for doing estimations – if you don’t know what it is, Google it!

What was the most unusual place you ever gave a maths talk?
Pentonville Prison.  I gave a talk about probability to about 30 prisoners.  They loved it.

Andrew:

What did you think of maths when you were at school?
It was awesome - the subject I could do without having to learn boring facts.

Which was your favourite bit of maths at school?
Matrices - or possibly equations - they were cool.

Is there any maths that you don’t like?
Yes - working out my bank balance every month. But it’s getting better, especially if you buy this DVD.

Has maths ever helped you get out of a difficult situation?
Yes - every time I cross the road safely, or catch a train, or when unexpected guests come to dinner and I have to do some rapid ratios to make more food.

Why do you Love Maths so much?
It’s an amazing language; both an art and a science - it helps us communicate in terms of how the universe works. It shows us the amazing way that things are designed and inter-relate. The more we study maths, the more obvious it becomes that there’s no way that the universe happened by chance!

Has maths ever helped you win anything?
Yes - I once won a bottle of champagne in a quiz final when the play-off question was “What is 7.5 divided by a half?” I said “15”, everyone laughed at me, since they knew that dividing makes things smaller, but then the MC gave me the bottle. It tasted rank, mind you.

What did you do at university?
Chat up girls mainly. Usually unsuccessfully. And go to parties. And study education.

What’s your favourite number?
42. It’s the answer. What’s yours?

What do you like APART from maths?
My wife, magic, interesting questions I can’t answer yet, football, my children, cricket, convincing people that they don’t need to be afraid of maths, meeting new people, exploring new places, knowing God personally, getting to know people behind the images we portray and marathon running (badly).

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Probably somewhere in the south of France, or perhaps Asia. Or the Tardis.

If you could give one maths tip to a 15 year old, what would it be?
‘X’ is just the name of a box that you keep numbers in - look for the patterns and you’ll be OK.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
There are far too many to name just one. Like the time I - no never mind, you’re too young.

What was the most unusual place you ever gave a maths talk?
In a pub in Ireland.

Price = p₁₆₈ pence = £9.97