iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Ah, I thought I was missing something! Thanks, that makes sense to me now.

James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Is it just uncomplicated because these examples are chosen so that the term on the right simplifies nicely every time? Change +2x to -2x in the last example to get a complicated one?

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

For TMUA, this year I'm revamping my long-running MAT livestream (free support programme, massively popular with Oxford applicants) to focus on the TMUA, now that it's the test that Oxford Mathematics uses. www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/matlive ^James

maths.ox.ac.uk

Oxford Maths Admissions Test Livestream | Mathematical Institute

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

For ESAT, my colleagues in Physics are running a free Preparing for Oxford Physics course. www.physics.ox.ac.uk/engage/schoo... ^James

physics.ox.ac.uk

Preparing for Oxford Physics

A course designed to develop the problem solving skills necessary for Oxford physics

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

For MAT, we also avoided the trapezium rule (these changes happend back in 2018). Oh, and the syllabus included differentiation of e^{kx}. Past papers and worked solutions at www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/mat ^James

maths.ox.ac.uk

Maths Admissions Test | Mathematical Institute

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

In #MathsToday I'm getting ready for Oxford Online Maths Club tomorrow, where DPhil student Alice will introduce General Relativity to an audience of mostly #ALevelMaths students. You / your students could join in too; it's free (no sign-up!) with over 100 other episodes at www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/club

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

(Disclaimer: Jane Street sponsor the online maths club www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/club that I host for Oxford Mathematics. That sponsorship does not require me to make posts like this!)

maths.ox.ac.uk

Oxford Online Maths Club | Mathematical Institute

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Teachers with girls in Y13 or equiv. who love maths or CS or both: here's a free summer program where they can learn about applications of maths at Jane Street. The timeline is not great considering exams, but do pass it on if you know someone who might like this! www.janestreet.com/join-jane-st...

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Note the base of the logarithm in that integral! imo the fun of the current activity is that students can't / won't / shouldn't blindly calculate these integrals, they have to think about how they're related to each other.

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Reposted by James Munro

Oxford Sparks @oxfordsparks.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

🎙️ Could #maths help you win that life-changing jackpot? We chat to @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social about probability, chaos theory & our chances of winning the #lottery... 🎧 www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/… @oxfordmathematics.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

I love how shouty and excited the sign is. I hope that I too can channel such enthusiasm for HYPERBOLIC PARABOLOIDS ^James

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

In #MathsToday Oxford Mathematics have opened school applications for the pilot of our new free GCSE Maths mentoring scheme aimed at getting pupils from grade 7 up to grade 8 or 9 (or equiv.), with Oxford students as mentors. Now we just need schools to sign up! www.maths.ox.ac.uk/outreach/oxf...

maths.ox.ac.uk

Oxford Unbounded | Mathematical Institute

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

I guess that they're letters (you've made another alphabet!) and maybe this is for the article Square Words, not Cheating at Tetris, or maybe the cover art combines the two? Excited to find out on Monday!

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

The trembling ones trembled happily, while a group of mermaids glowered from the back row. The silence was broken by the distant sound of another vase smashing.

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Looks great. I'd like to buy some to use at Oxford. What's the best email address for a bulk order for HE? ^James

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

I'm in the semiprime of my life! (I've realised that my age is the middle of three consecutive semiprimes (each is the product of two primes). Fun fact; you never get four semiprimes in a row. Can you see why?)

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Small admissions update for 2027 entry; the standard conditional A-level offer for joint-honours Maths & Computer Science at Oxford will now be A*A*A incl. A* in Maths and Further Maths (where available), the same as the other Mathematics courses at Oxford. www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/u...

ox.ac.uk

Mathematics and Computer Science | University of Oxford

Course overviewUCAS code: GG14Entrance requirements: A*A*A with the A*s in Maths and Further Maths if availableCourse duration: 3 years (BA); 4 years (MMathCompSci)Subject requirementsRequired

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Prospective Cambridge applicants are welcome to join in with our free online TMUA support livestreams over the summer at www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/tmua ^James

maths.ox.ac.uk

TMUA | Mathematical Institute

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Out of interest, does Edexcel publish this data somewhere publicly accessible? (I'm not a teacher, if that matters)

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I'm using Google Keep because they haven't yet added Gemini to it (maybe they have forgotten that Keep exists)

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

We think that a lot of Oxford applicants will probably take the TMUA anyway if they're applying to Durham / Imperial / LSE / Warwick / UCL. ^James

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Note that this is part of a wider move by the University of Oxford to use UAT-UK tests, and there will no longer be an Oxford-only test for any course. We're planning to continue to interview roughly three candidates per place for Mathematics and joint honours. ^James

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Oxford is switching from MAT to TMUA for Maths, Computer Science, and joint honours, as part of a wider move to UAT-UK tests. See www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/tmua for info and resources. As you can imagine, our website says MAT in lots of places, please bear with us as we change them all to TMUA! ^James

maths.ox.ac.uk

TMUA | Mathematical Institute

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Thanks for posting this Sarah! I'm looking forward to supporting our applicants with TMUA, and I'll be updating the department's new TMUA page at www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/tmua with resources. ^James

maths.ox.ac.uk

TMUA | Mathematical Institute

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Reposted by James Munro

Claire Metcalfe @cxmetcalfe.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

New academic year, new Step Support Programme website! Over the summer we have updated our website, had a bit of a tidy up, and added some new content. One of the new features is a "Check in test' for students who have completed the foundation modules complete with marksheme. maths.org/step/

maths.org

Home | STEP Support Programme

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Laura has very helpfully put instructions on her website, I can't wait to make them when I get home! warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/math... and scroll down to "a pair of hyperbolic paraboloids".

warwick.ac.uk

Laura Bradby

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Yesterday I saw a question here about mixed partial derivatives and it got me thinking about how a surface might or might not have d^2 f / dx dy = 0 if we rotate it. Today I saw these two ruled surfaces at #TMiP25 made by Laura Bradby. No such thing as coincidence in maths!

Two ruled surfaces (in this case, a hyperbolic paraboloid, like a Pringle crisp). Each is made of a collection of cross-sections in two colours, criss-crossing each other at right-angles. At first glance they're different; one has cross-sections aligned with the curvature and for the other they're at 45 degrees. But the surface is the same!

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Reposted by James Munro

Oxford Mathematics @oxfordmathematics.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Our much missed colleague Vicky Neale wanted to tell the world about maths. So who better for the second Vicky Neale Public Lecture than Simon Singh who has spent a career doing just that. Wednesday 6 August, 5pm, Oxford. Online three weeks later. More info: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/72339

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

No, I've got no idea whether this is true or not, sorry.

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

The University of Oxford is aware of the complaints. Have you approached Ofqual? ^James

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

You might be interested in the way the New Yorker handles this www.newyorker.com/culture/cult...

newyorker.com

The Curse of the Diaeresis

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

I'm imagining a number like 9.499999999997, with so many 9s in the middle that the calculator gives up and rounds this to 9.5, which begins 9.5. I've interpreted the question as being about the difference between the true answer and what the calculator says, which is probably not intended.

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

I don't know any procedures for this, but my answer depends on the number of digits the calculator has (my lower bound is slightly below 9.5 to allow for some tiny amount of rounding, and similarly at the other end). Am I supposed to imagine a calculator that doesn't round?

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Talking Maths in Public @tmip.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

The MEGA Grant is a bursary scheme for maths communicators who want to put together large-scale, hands-on interactive maths events and this year's closing date is 22/7. If you have a cool idea and just need some support and £££ to make it happen, visit: tmip.uk/mega-grant

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

All that tech and all that prep and I still forgot to unmute myself at the start haha ^James

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

In #MathsToday we've started the MAT Livestream again; free online support for people thinking of applying for Maths or CS at university (and especially Oxford). See www.maths.ox.ac.uk/r/matlive for more! ^James

Two computer screens, and a mess of tech peripherals like a tablet and microphone and a mini stream deck. One screen says MAT Livestream 2025 in large letters.

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

I'm not a primary or secondary teacher, but I'm interested in this! Why do you think the question says "on average"? The intention seems to be for children to just ignore those two words? But that bit is interesting to me because in general E(1/X) isn't 1/E(X)! Of course, KS2 kids don't know that...

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Love the choice to use (2,0) instead of (1,0) and similarly on the y-axis. What changes if it's not convex? (Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the same answer in terms of a and b)

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Templeton is attempting the Table Cubes activity; there are nine dice, each with four numbers written on them, and they can be arranged to show 9 times table, or the 8 times table, and so on down to the 1 times table. Activity adapted from magicmathworks.org/oldsite/exhi...

magicmathworks.org

Magic Mathworks Info Sheet Tables Race

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Maths for everyone at the Oxford Maths Festival, even dragons! #MathsToday

A large red dragon mascot (wearing a T-shirt identifying him as the mascot for Templars Square shopping centre) attempts a maths activity with dice at the Oxford Maths Festival.

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Exciting! Do you know how much of the £8.2m is going to support girls' mathematics education? In the video you say "part of this funding". Is it a large part?

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Nice! Do you want feedback / bug reports on this web version?

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Come and work with us! We've just advertised a new post in the Oxford Mathematics outreach team, on a project that I'm really excited about. We're looking for someone to work on Mathematics resources to educate, challenge, and inspire students in KS4 or equivalent. Info & apply at bit.ly/3Ykps7q

bit.ly

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Update; the Further Reading notes are now live, including links to books by Simon Singh, Borges, and Georges Perec. Also including a description of my incredibly stupid one-symbol code. Finite strings are countable, y'know... www.maths.ox.ac.uk/outreach/oxf... #MathsToday

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

We got to talk to Ayliean about Morse Code for an hour! So much fun :)

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James Munro @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Store of one delight : I like |z+1/z|=2, which I first saw on an Oxford Maths problem sheet courses.maths.ox.ac.uk/course/view....

courses.maths.ox.ac.uk

Course: Introduction to Complex Numbers (2024-25) | Mathematical Institute

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