School of Mathematics

Mathematics Engagement Officer featured on BBC radio

On Friday 19th February, our Mathematics Engagement Officer, Mairi Walker, was featured on the BBC World Service radio programme More or Less. Mairi spoke with producer Wesley Stephenson about the coastline paradox: the notion that the length of a coastline varies according to the scale at which you view it. Mairi became interested in the coastline paradox when designing a course on fractal geometry for secondary school pupils through her work for charity The Brilliant Club. During the course, pupils estimated the length of the coastline of Great Britain using maps of different scales, and on the show Mairi discusses their findings, as well as the origins of the coastline paradox.

Find out more and listen to the show here; Mairi talks at around 5 minutes. She may also feature on More or Less on Radio 4 when the new series starts again in April.

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