doctor who
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Little Reminders of Home – Cubes in The Power of Three
“The Earth isn’t my home, Sarah. I’m a Time Lord… “ – The Doctor, Pyramids of Mars (1975) Previously on this blog, we discussed how embarrassing it was that the author of Doctor Who: The Complete History – Issue 41 /… Continue reading
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Hyping Up Hypatia – On the Scarcity of Female Mathematicians within Doctor Who
On the 27th of February 1987, Sylvester McCoy was announced as the new Doctor. He would play the seventh then-known incarnation of the Time Lord, and so henceforth he would be referred to as the Seventh Doctor. Keen fans of… Continue reading
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Taxing Humour – Every Finance Joke in The Sun Makers Explained!
It is a truth acknowledged across the universe that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. And yet The Sun Makers (1978) is the only Doctor Who serial to have both of them in spades. So with… Continue reading
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…And A Happy Who Year – A Personal Reflection for 2025
It’s the last day of 2024. I’m not entirely sure where it all went. Every year seems to go by faster than the last. There’s a mathematical explanation for that: each subsequent year is a smaller proportion of your life… Continue reading
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MORE Russell T Davies and the Number 57
Last year, to commemorate Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, I decided to write a blog all about a number slightly less than 60. This year, to commemorate Doctor Who’s 61st anniversary, I have decided to write another blog, but this time… Continue reading
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Can We Use Maths To Talk To The Boneless? – Pi in Flatline Pt.2
Back in March, to commemorate Pi Day, I decided to treat you dear readers to a discussion on the number pi in Doctor Who, particularly focussing on Flatline. I know, I spoil you! But today, if you are reading on… Continue reading
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Why I Love The Galois Group
Tomorrow, that is Saturday 8 June 2024 at the time of publication, I’ll be heading off to Big Finish Day. Every year since 2016, Big Finish has run the Paul Spragg Memorial Competition. It’s a competition that invites writers (who… Continue reading
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The Most Important Belief in Human History? – Infinity in The Rings of Akhaten
“Saving the day through a heartfelt sing song and the illogical powers of an emotional leaf felt like a distinct cop-out.” – Mark Snow, IGN. “I caught the sound of a man airing the preposterous notion that the sum of… Continue reading
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Does the Doctor Accidentally Start a Maths War? – Pi in Flatline Pt.1
This essay was originally published on my (now-defunct) Substack newsletter on 14/03/24. The popular mathematics writer and Guardian puzzle columnist Alex Bellos once described pi as “the most famous number in math.” This is because pi can claim to be the only… Continue reading
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The Answer to Life, The Universe, and Also The Pub Quiz – Happy Primes in 42
On this day, 17 years ago, the next time trailer for 42 was first broadcast right after at the end of The Lazarus Experiment. Viewers would have to wait two long weeks to eventually see this episode, thanks to Eurovision,… Continue reading
The Brain of Möbius 