Pure Maths Masterclass

On Saturday October 2nd, a group of eager 15-18 year old students gathered in central London at Birkbeck University for a Masterclass in Pure Maths. On Saturday October 2nd, a group of eager sixth formers gathered in central London at Birkbeck University for a Masterclass in Pure Maths. The day began with a look at the various ways mathematicians prove things. They learnt that, while it is crucial for a proof to be correct, it is also desirable for it to be elegant, clear and economical. This means, rather remarkably, that even if two arguments have the same conclusion one can still, in a certain sense, be better than the other. This aesthetic side of mathematics, so often neglected at school, was explored in wonderful context of graph theory and culminated in a proof of the five colour theorem. This result brought the students tantalisingly close to the famous Four Colour Theorem: a problem which stood open for more than a century, was resolved in the seventies and yet, to this day, awaits a truly elegant solution.

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