Double Maths First Thing: Issue 59

Double Maths First Thing has been blown away by a puzzle Hello! My name is Colin and I am a mathematician on a mission to spread the joy and delight in mathematical thinking, in figuring things out, and in doing things that make you feel clever. Such as – I’m indebted to Miles Gould for encouraging me to dig deeper – The Guardian’s 30,000th cryptic crossword. My dad and my Uncle Bill got me into crosswords as a teenager, and I’ve been tackling the Guardian’s puzzle perhaps as many days as not for the last few decades. I’m not going to spoiler it for you, but I think I can safely reveal that it involves a message they’ve been drip-feeding hidden in plain sight for nearly 18 months, and a final boss with a mic drop that made me grin and cry a little bit. That’s the sort of feeling I’m trying to spread. Glorious, glorious work. Links I’m a fan of proofs without works. Arnaldo Gunzi and Ernée Kozyreff Filho are fans of proof by cardboard. It’s always a treat to see maths made tangible –…