@tomrocksmaths.bsky.social
Mathematician at Oxford and Cambridge. 225,000 on YouTube. Numberphile. Tom Rocks Maths. Countdown.
Happy GCHQ Christmas Puzzle Day!! Swipe to see close-ups of the puzzle questions and information on where to find the solutions - let’s go maths fans :)
10.12.2025 14:40 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Thanks for coming out Cambridge - we had a blast!!
Great audience, great speakers and even greater maths. Hope to see even more of you at the upcoming Maths Inspiration shows in the spring :)
NEW VIDEO: Birthdays on Pluto. A great extension to the original Numberphile video on the Birthday Paradox - what happens if we are on Pluto?
A 3rd new video in 3 days for you lucky maths fans :)
NEW VIDEO: The Future of AI Research with David Silver (2019 ACM Prize)
David explains how AI learns, and what it means for future developments in the field. Premieres today at 18:00 (GMT) - see you in the live chat!
NEW VIDEO: A special Numberphile video for a special day - enjoy!
06.12.2025 18:51 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Congratulations to these brilliant students for completing the Intermediate Calculus course @oxlifelonglearning.bsky.social over the past 10 weeks.
If you'd like to join one of my online classes at Oxford University, click the link below to find out more: tomrocksmaths.com/2025/12/05/o...
Thanks to all 700+ of you for coming to Maths in Action today at Warwick Arts Centre and letting me talk about Pokemon on stage. Pikachu sends hugs :)
04.12.2025 20:12 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
NEW VIDEO: Numbers vs. Words Round 13 - Dudeney's Number versus pre-dawn anxiety.
Which is your favourite - 2595 from Dr Tom or Uhtcearu from Susie Dent? Cast your vote here: forms.gle/pmZDe4wAcm9G...
What a weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix - Alonso scoring points and Metallica headlining. My mathematical brain was in its element thinking about the aerodynamics of the cars, the mathematical connotations of the championship race, and the beautiful patterns of the guitar riffs. We <3 maths!
01.12.2025 14:37 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Final hike in Oman to the breathtaking Wadi Nakhr - swipe to see video footage of some rather sketchy climbs… A total of 51.42 km covered in 12 hours 53 minutes across 3 separate treks. Is the average velocity above or below 4 km/h?
Try to estimate first before checking on a calculator!
So much to see in Muscat - from the old town forts and palace, to the Royal Opera House and Grand Mosque.
The population has exploded in the last 75 years from only ~10,000 in 1950 to 1.7 million in 2025, an average increase of 22,500 per year which continues today. Crazy.
Great to be back underwater, and what a place to do it! Daymaniyat Islands off the coast of Oman - simply stunning.
Pressure is inversely proportional to volume and doubles approximately every 10m. If I’m diving at a depth of 20m, how much space does 100 cm^3 of air on the surface now take up?
NEW VIDEO: Watch a real example of what an undergraduate admissions interview at the University of Cambridge is like. Can you solve any of the questions?
Premieres today at 5pm (GMT) - see you in the live chat!
Best of luck to anyone being interviewed next month - we're all rooting for you :)
Exploring the sights in Oman: Jabreen Castle, Nizwa Souq, and Bahla Fort. Human habitation here stretches back over 100,000 years - the half way point between today and the emergence of the Homo Sapiens species ~200,000 years ago.
25.11.2025 13:45 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
The most votes in a round so far leads to another well-deserved win for @susiedent.com and the "lost positives".
Words now have a potentially unassailable lead at 8-4 so I'd better bring my prime game to the next few rounds if Numbers are going to catch up... new video coming soon!
Highest point in Oman at 3018m - WHAT A VIEW. Not quite 500 miles, but 24.5 km covered in 7 hours makes one tired Tom. Now to go lie down…
Well done to those of you that guessed Oman from yesterday’s post, excellent detective work :)
You all seemed to enjoy this last time, so can you guess where I am? Canyons, desert, and goats galore. Answer to be revealed tomorrow :)
22.11.2025 15:59 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
NEW VIDEO (from Dr Zye): Can You Draw Every Flag in Powerpoint?
The winning essay from the 2025 Tom Rocks Maths Essay Competition has been turned into a video - and it's one of the best things I've ever seen. Go watch now.
Such a fun day of filming with an actual green screen (so much better than my attempts) on an exciting new project! Looking forward to sharing the outcome with you all over the next few months :)
20.11.2025 17:16 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Happy Maths Week England!! It’s been a busy few days travelling across the country to reach as many students - and teachers - as possible to celebrate all things maths. From Mario vs Sonic, to Pokemon in space, maths is everywhere. Search Maths Week England to find events happening near you :)
19.11.2025 21:40 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Tattoo #65 - Leaf Badge. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the maths of Pokémon the last few weeks on the road, as well as writing about the game for my upcoming book, so this feels like a highly appropriate post. I make it 5 Kanto badges posted so far, which means 3 more to come :)
18.11.2025 21:42 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Had a great time at Scarisbrick Hall School today talking million-dollar equations and mathematical modelling in sport with years 7-13 (look how excited they are in the last photo!). And what a beautiful building for a school - definite Hogwarts vibes <3
17.11.2025 19:51 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Tom Rocks Maths going international with a recent article in Dutch newspaper Trouw about the use of mathematical modelling in sports including rowing, running, football, basketball and cricket.
Translated version available at the link below - enjoy!
tomrocksmaths.com/2025/11/16/t...
NEW VIDEO: Numbers vs. Words Round 12 - Ruthful vs. 117 billion.
Lost positives from @susiedent.com versus the number of humans that have ever lived from Dr Tom.
Vote for your favourite here: forms.gle/83C1LHbqUw6r...
Some highlights from the past few days: Maths in Action London; YouTube learning roundtable at Google UK; and inspiring future mathematicians at the Norfolk Maths Symposium in Norwich. I love this job <3
13.11.2025 20:35 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A final Sri Lanka appreciation post full of tea, waterfalls, and a sweaty mid-run Dr Tom.
Sri Lanka is the world’s 4th largest producer of tea, with China topping the charts at 10x the amount. World production is 30 million tonnes, SL and China together account for 55%, so how much does SL produce?
Are you even a tourist in Sri Lanka if you don’t take the train ride across the mountains to Ella? Simply breathtaking.
It took 7 hours and 20 minutes to travel from Nanu Oya to Colombo at an average speed of 28 kmph. How long is the railway?
Try it without a calculator for a challenge :)
Behind the scenes of the recording session with @tomrocksmaths.bsky.social for the @twinklresources.bsky.social "Leading With" podcast today where Tom shared his insights into engaging people in maths as well as what he learned from sitting GCSE exams and deputising for Rachel Riley on Countdown!
11.11.2025 16:38 — 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Loved catching up with Prof. Alison Martingano and talking about how to overcome maths anxiety on the Psychology & Stuff podcast at UWGB. We went to the same high school but hadn't seen each other in 20 years... amazing to reconnect after all this time!
Listen here: soundcloud.com/rycmart/ep-1...
Linguistic Fossils take the win over the Birthday Problem - well done again to @susiedent.com
Keep a lookout for a full video explaining the Birthday Problem and 23 - coming soon :)
In the meantime you can catch up on all 11 rounds of "Numbers vs Words" so far here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jev...
