More videos (Gresham College)

This problem is perhaps the perfect introduction to graph theory: How do you connect Mr Angry, Mr Beastly and Mr Cross to gas, water and electricity without the connections crossing one another?
Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, explains the problem and shows how the suitable diagram can prove that a solution is impossible.


4 cubes with 4 colours across their 6 faces, 82,944 possible ways of stacking them - how do we stack them to have all four colours on each side of the stack?
This is the problem of Instant Insanity, to which there are two distinct methods of solution. Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, here explains how to solve it using graph theory.



A short introduction to tilings. Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, runs through some examples of tilings he has met on his travels between Cairo and Colorado.


Dominoes, but with more than two squares... Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, runs through the basic theory of Polominoes and some of its uses, including one made by Arthur C Clarke.


The largest sudoku problem in the world!
Polygonal, Samurai, Samurai Polygonal, Orthogonal, The Dion Cube - Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, runs through the different types of types and varieties of Sudoku problems and the types of challenges that they offer.


The complexity of Magic Squares goes far beyond the Sudoku puzzles we see in our daily newspapers. From 1200BC China, through artists like Duerer, to the master of the 16x16 Magic Square, Banjamin Franklin, Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, gives a quick overview of the possibilities of squares of numbers where the rows and columns add up to the same sum.


What is the average speed if you go to Oxford at 40mph and return at 60mph? - It might not be what you expect! Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, runs through this problem and explains why it the average speed is not 50mph.


Fibonacci is best remembered for his discovery of the 'Fibonacci series'. Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, explains what this series of numbers is and the problem that gave rise to it in his 1202 book 'Liber abaci'.


Two Fibonacci Problems



A fox, a goose and a bag of corn - how do you get them across the river without one of them being eaten...? Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, gives a quick run-through of the origins of the problem and the basis of how to solve it.


The problem Matt Damon's character solved in 'Good Will Hunting' - Homeomorphically Irreducible Trees of degree ten. The problem sounds complex but is actually very easy. Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor of Geometry, explains the problem and shows the simple solutions.