what’s your angle?
non zero one teamed up with the Science Museum again in 2015 to make a festival for the London Mathematical Society’s 150th birthday – that’s right, maths and fun collided HARD to make the interactive-undercover-investigative-TV-famous-experience, what’s your angle?
Visitors of all ages arrived at the N24 Rolling News Studio where they were immediately briefed by the firm but effective CEO of N24, Selina West. Selina says things like:
“We’ve got a 24-hour rolling news channel and only about three hours of news that everyone’s already heard about – it’s an embarrassment. So you’re going to bring me new stories. You’re going to bring me a new angle. You’re going to bring me the stuff that’s going to keep us ahead of the curve. You’re going to bring me MATHS!
Yes, I said Maths. Forget Pythagoras and pie charts, I’m talking deep space, tsunamis, cows falling over – you’re going to blow the lid off this thing.”
– so it’s clear she’s not the kind of person who likes to be let down.
Your mission: To visit a number of ‘cubes’ (massive inflatable structures from Inflate) where different groups of mathematicians are demonstrating their work. The cubes are portals to other worlds – you can visit Bill Butter’s farm, where mathematicians from the University of Essex are demonstrating their cow-tracking software, or perhaps head to Elektra’s audition room, where a group from Oxford and Cambridge universities are recording people attempting to pronounce ancient Greek words. The full line-up of characters and groups can be found at the bottom of this about section.
Next, you’re handed your Undercover Journo Jotter, with undercover tips (Choose yourself a Journo name that is believable but forgettable. Don’t go for something like Liberty … go for something like Sue, everyone knows a lot of Sues.) and space to make your observations. Then it’s time to head out into N24 HQ and start your mission. Armed with your map, you choose a cube to visit first.
Once you’ve visited up to four cubes, you can visit the Editors’ Desk. The editors are a crack team of N24 hacks who are on hand to help you turn your notes into a great story. What’s the headline? What’s the hook? Why are our viewers going to care??? Got all that? Now you can head to the N24 TV Studio to join anchor Clare Palmer (Stephanie de Whalley) as a special correspondent. N24 bring the lights and the camera, you bring the action. Your story is broadcast live across the festival, including the N24 Live Hub, where other visitors can see and hear about what you’ve found out.
After you’ve gone on the news and contributed to saving N24 with your blockbuster maths story, you can stay in the studio and see what others have to say, or tweet your story to the masses!
FULL LINE UP OF GROUPS AND CAST
Open University, Imperial College London and University of Liverpool | Dynamical systems
Join ex-astronaut Laura Frenzy (Cat Harrison) as you learn about fractals, chaos and not taking a wrong turn in deep space. If you’re half as excited about dynamical systems as Laura is, then you’re very excited about dynamical systems.
Link 1, Link 2 and Link 3
University of Kent | Solitons and skyrmions
Learn how to ride the wave forever with buff-yet-thoughtful surfer Shane Davey (Austin Caley). Smoke guns and wave tanks are all part of Kent’s demonstration of the behaviour of solitons.
Link
University of Essex | Maths of cows
Bill Butter (Alistair Norgate) has brought in moo-maticians from Essex to help keep his herd of milkers strong and healthy. Choose to disguise yourself as a farmer or a cow to go undercover and get the scoop.
Link
University of Brighton | Spinal modelling
If you were trying to build an artificial intelligence robot that was as human as possible, but without human problems, you’d do what Roberta Davies (Chloe Wilcox) has done, and bring in mathematicians from Brighton to share their research about spinal modelling. Clip your tie on and try and look like you know what you’re doing!
Link
Universities of Cambridge and Oxford | Speech modelling
Elektra Theta (Cat Harrison) is so pleased to see you, dahling! Now, don’t be nervous – just put your sunglasses and feather boa on and talk into the microphone so the mathematicians from Cambridge and Oxford can mathematically deduce how good your Greek accent is. No pressure.
Link 1 and Link 2
Open University, Durham University, Newcastle University and University of Leicester | Aperiodic tiling
Time to get digging in the sand with world-renowned archaeologist Basil Khaki (Austin Caley). What are you digging for? TILES, of course! Some of them are in patterns that repeat periodically, and some of them aren’t – of course, you knew that already!
Link
University College London | Fluid dynamics
Construction manager Martin Plank (Alistair Norgate) can’t afford a repeat of the wobbly bridge fiasco of 2000. That’s why he’s brought on UCL mathematicians to explain the phenomenon – using guitars, polystyrene beads and…tins of soup? Keep your hard hat on, you never know where this is heading.
Link 1, and Link 2
King’s College London and University of Surrey | Cardiomorphs
A pioneering collaboration between a mathematician and a pharmacologist is just what athletic trainer Maria Suspenia (Chloe Wilcox) needs to help understand the hearts of her budding young runners. What’s that – you’re not a runner? Just fake the lunges, stick your finger in the machine, and hope nobody notices.
Link
OTHER PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS HAPPEN
Video design: Adam Young
Video install: Alex Vipond
3d design: Thomas Rogers and Toots Butcher
Video supplied by: Stage Sound Services
Inflatables supplied by: Inflate
non zero one teamed up with the Science Museum again in 2015 to make a festival for the London Mathematical Society’s 150th birthday – that’s right, maths and fun collided HARD to make the interactive-undercover-investigative-TV-famous-experience, what’s your angle?
Visitors of all ages arrived at the N24 Rolling News Studio where they were immediately briefed by the firm but effective CEO of N24, Selina West. Selina says things like:
“We’ve got a 24-hour rolling news channel and only about three hours of news that everyone’s already heard about – it’s an embarrassment. So you’re going to bring me new stories. You’re going to bring me a new angle. You’re going to bring me the stuff that’s going to keep us ahead of the curve. You’re going to bring me MATHS!
Yes, I said Maths. Forget Pythagoras and pie charts, I’m talking deep space, tsunamis, cows falling over – you’re going to blow the lid off this thing.”
– so it’s clear she’s not the kind of person who likes to be let down.
Your mission: To visit a number of ‘cubes’ (massive inflatable structures from Inflate) where different groups of mathematicians are demonstrating their work. The cubes are portals to other worlds – you can visit Bill Butter’s farm, where mathematicians from the University of Essex are demonstrating their cow-tracking software, or perhaps head to Elektra’s audition room, where a group from Oxford and Cambridge universities are recording people attempting to pronounce ancient Greek words. The full line-up of characters and groups can be found at the bottom of this about section.
Next, you’re handed your Undercover Journo Jotter, with undercover tips (Choose yourself a Journo name that is believable but forgettable. Don’t go for something like Liberty … go for something like Sue, everyone knows a lot of Sues.) and space to make your observations. Then it’s time to head out into N24 HQ and start your mission. Armed with your map, you choose a cube to visit first.
Once you’ve visited up to four cubes, you can visit the Editors’ Desk. The editors are a crack team of N24 hacks who are on hand to help you turn your notes into a great story. What’s the headline? What’s the hook? Why are our viewers going to care??? Got all that? Now you can head to the N24 TV Studio to join anchor Clare Palmer (Stephanie de Whalley) as a special correspondent. N24 bring the lights and the camera, you bring the action. Your story is broadcast live across the festival, including the N24 Live Hub, where other visitors can see and hear about what you’ve found out.
After you’ve gone on the news and contributed to saving N24 with your blockbuster maths story, you can stay in the studio and see what others have to say, or tweet your story to the masses!
FULL LINE UP OF GROUPS AND CAST
Open University, Imperial College London and University of Liverpool | Dynamical systems
Join ex-astronaut Laura Frenzy (Cat Harrison) as you learn about fractals, chaos and not taking a wrong turn in deep space. If you’re half as excited about dynamical systems as Laura is, then you’re very excited about dynamical systems.
Link 1, Link 2 and Link 3
University of Kent | Solitons and skyrmions
Learn how to ride the wave forever with buff-yet-thoughtful surfer Shane Davey (Austin Caley). Smoke guns and wave tanks are all part of Kent’s demonstration of the behaviour of solitons.
Link
University of Essex | Maths of cows
Bill Butter (Alistair Norgate) has brought in moo-maticians from Essex to help keep his herd of milkers strong and healthy. Choose to disguise yourself as a farmer or a cow to go undercover and get the scoop.
Link
University of Brighton | Spinal modelling
If you were trying to build an artificial intelligence robot that was as human as possible, but without human problems, you’d do what Roberta Davies (Chloe Wilcox) has done, and bring in mathematicians from Brighton to share their research about spinal modelling. Clip your tie on and try and look like you know what you’re doing!
Link
Universities of Cambridge and Oxford | Speech modelling
Elektra Theta (Cat Harrison) is so pleased to see you, dahling! Now, don’t be nervous – just put your sunglasses and feather boa on and talk into the microphone so the mathematicians from Cambridge and Oxford can mathematically deduce how good your Greek accent is. No pressure.
Link 1 and Link 2
Open University, Durham University, Newcastle University and University of Leicester | Aperiodic tiling
Time to get digging in the sand with world-renowned archaeologist Basil Khaki (Austin Caley). What are you digging for? TILES, of course! Some of them are in patterns that repeat periodically, and some of them aren’t – of course, you knew that already!
Link
University College London | Fluid dynamics
Construction manager Martin Plank (Alistair Norgate) can’t afford a repeat of the wobbly bridge fiasco of 2000. That’s why he’s brought on UCL mathematicians to explain the phenomenon – using guitars, polystyrene beads and…tins of soup? Keep your hard hat on, you never know where this is heading.
Link 1, and Link 2
King’s College London and University of Surrey | Cardiomorphs
A pioneering collaboration between a mathematician and a pharmacologist is just what athletic trainer Maria Suspenia (Chloe Wilcox) needs to help understand the hearts of her budding young runners. What’s that – you’re not a runner? Just fake the lunges, stick your finger in the machine, and hope nobody notices.
Link
OTHER PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS HAPPEN
Video design: Adam Young
Video install: Alex Vipond
3d design: Thomas Rogers and Toots Butcher
Video supplied by: Stage Sound Services
Inflatables supplied by: Inflate
