Category Archives: Newsletter

Derren Brown, etc

1. Article about Derren Brown
2. Aventis Science Book Prize
3. Rattleback Obsession
4. Enigma in Australia
5. Cryptogram Competition
6. Competition Winners

1. Article about Derren Brown

I wrote a major article about Derren Brown for the Daily Telegraph in May. Derren has been showing off his ‘psychological’ skills in a major Channel 4 TV series called Mind Control, but I am very dubious about some of his techniques, which are described in a very misleading way. His demonstrations seem to rely less on brilliant psychology and more on standard magic tricks. The article uncovers what is really going on behind some of his routines. Some people who read the article, emailed me to say “Ah, but what about the demonstration involving …?” I cannot get into email exchanges about this issue (because I am busy writing a book), but I can assure you that I could reproduce many of his other demos using ordinary techniques. Furthermore, I can’t expose these techniques as it would be unfair to magicians. You can read the article (along with some answers to FAQ) at:

https://simonsingh.net/Derren_Brown_Article.html
https://simonsingh.net/Derren_FAQ.html

2. Aventis Science Book Prize

Last month was the Aventis Science Book Prize, the most prestigious prize for science writers. If you are looking for a book to read, then you could do worse than pick one of the shortlisted titles. By the way, it was a disgrace that Dr Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson was not shortlisted, so please also consider this book if you are looking a fun, interesting and brilliant book to read on the beach. You can find out about the short list and the winner at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3019032.stm
One of my favourites from the shortlist is Reckoning With Risk by Gerd Gigerenzer, all about how we learn to cope with risk in an uncertain world. One copy is up for grabs if you solve the following problem. If there are 23 people in a room, then there is a 50/50 chance of a shared birthday, which seems surprisingly high. The question is this: how many people do you need in the room for a 90% chance of a shared birthday? To enter, just email risk@simonsingh.net with your answer in the subject header and your name and address in the body of the email.

3. Rattleback Obsession

Some of you may know about my rattleback obsession. If you share it, then you can find out how to build one from a bent spoon at:

http://fluorine.e20.physik.tu-muenchen.de/~cucke/ftp/lectures/udine95.pdf
I tried with a tablespoon and it worked quite well, but my teaspoon rattleback failed dismally. I am not sure why.

4. Enigma in Australia

Claire Ellis, who manages my school-based projects, is going to be in Australia next month, touring the country with my Enigma machine. I know that lots of Australian students are using The Code Book in their classes (including Keryn Ellis’s class at UTS), so you might want to keep an eye out for Claire on her travels. To find out about Claire’s schedule, you can email her at enigmaproject@hotmail.com or you can visit her website at:

https://simonsingh.net/More_Information.html

5. Cryptogram Competition

Here’s the latest cryptogram competition. It’s a substitution cipher, but I warn you that this is a particularly tricky text. To help you, I have used a Kama Sutra cipher, i.e., if A represents F, then F represents A, etc. But still this is not a trivial cryptogram.

MHPNJ, ZJ XNPQH, NAP NEKH HA FQNAM OHNXPQAFK, N XNZZQ, NA NPTQXNE AHMHXQHVK GHX OQK EQASK MH TNKHAXJ, N MXQH HG WNXPQANEK NAP N MXQH, MHH, HG DHEQMQWQNAK QAGHXT VK NEE HG OHC HVX WHVAMXJ AHC XQKSK PJQAF HG KMNXUNMQHA.

Email the plaintext to cryptogram at simonsingh.net and one correct answer will win a copy of The Code Book and the accompanying CD-ROM. Please include your name and address.

6. Competition Winners

(a) The last cryptogram competition asked “What is cryptographically special about the words COLD and FROG?” – lots of you spotted that the words are Caesar shifts of each other.

COLD – DPME – EQNF – FROG.

Seasonal Caesar shifts include JOLLY to CHEER & HATS to SLED.

The winner drawn out of the hat is Esther Enderle from Switzerland. I will also be sending out five runners up prizes, so don’t be surprised if you got the answer right and receive something in the post in the next week or so.

(b) The winner of the Fermat trivia quiz (part II) was Corey Birtles of Australia – the prize is in the post. Well done!

And that’s just about it. I will leave you with a recent website discovery, namely a page at the Vega website which contains an online video of a lecture given by the physicist Richard Feynman in New Zealand. It is a fairly advanced lecture, but just watching the great man in action is a great way to brighten up the day.

www.vega.org.uk/series/lectures/feynman/index.html

Enjoy the rest of the summer,
Bye for now,
Cheerio,
Simon Singh.

Ps. If you need to email me, then please do not reply to this address, as your email will not reach me. Please go via the website https://simonsingh.net and click on the contact button. It takes me ages to answer emails, as I am struggling to keep up with my correspondence, so please be patient.

PPs. To unsubscribe, please email unsubscribe@simonsingh.net with your email address in the subject header preceded by UNSUB, e.g., [subject: UNSUB john.johnson@johnjohnson.org.za]

Five More Numbers

1. Another Five Numbers
2. Prime Numbers
3. Untold Story of Arne Beurling
4. Volcanic Smoke Rings
5. Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure
6. Cryptogram Competition
7. Fermat Trivia Quiz
8. Competition Winners
9. New Search Engine on the Site

1. Another Five Numbers

Last year I presented a series called Five Numbers. Now the producer Adrian Washbourne and I are back with Another Five Numbers. It is a series of snappy fifteen-minute mathematical adventures. The series starts on Tues 22 April at 9.30am on Radio 4 and runs for five weeks. If you are not in the UK or miss the programme, then you can hear it on-line at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/

You can find out about the old series and hear it at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/5numbers.shtml

2. Prime Numbers

Prime numbers have been in the news recently. In particular, there is a new and surprising way to determine if a number is prime. People have been asking if this impacts on the security of crypto systems (e.g., RSA). The answer is “No”. The breakthrough is incredibly important and interesting, but it does not have any bearing on the factoring of primes. The sites below explain more about this breakthrough and other prime number headline stories.

http://www.utm.edu/research/primes/prove/prove4_3.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2911945.stm
http://www.utm.edu/research/primes/index.html
http://www.mersenne.org/prime.htm

(If you subscribe to the final site, you can help find a new prime number.)

3. Untold Story of Arne Beurling

I have just received a copy of a new biography of the brilliant but largely ignored Swedish wartime codebreaker Arne Beurling. In covering 3,000 years of cryptography in my book (The Code Book), I inevitably had to leave out some of the heroes of cryptography, and Beurling is one of the most prominent omissions. You can catch up on his cracking of the German G-Schreiber in Codebreakers by Bengt Beckman (ISBN 0-8218-2889-4).

4. Volcanic Smoke Rings

This article is one of the niftiest things I’ve read this year. Volcanoes can sometimes blow smoke rings, and if you visit the page then you can see Etna performing the trick.

6. Cryptogram

This time, I am offering a cryptographic puzzle rather than a pure cryptogram. What is cryptographically special about the words COLD and FROG? Hint: H BZLD, H RZV, H BNMPTDQDC. You can find out how to enter at: https://simonsingh.net/Crypto_competition.html
The winner will receive a Toolkit – a copy of The Code Book and the accompanying CD-ROM.

8. Competition Winners

Which singer is in the PRESBYTERIANS? Well if you solved this anagram from the previous newsletter, then you will already know that the answer is BRITNEY SPEARS. Alexander Ovcharenko of the Ukraine was drawn out of the hat and wins a copy of “Cryptography” by Fred Piper and Sean Murphy. The last cryptogram was solved by dozens of people. The winning entry is from Worasait Suwannik from Thailand, who wins a copy of the Young Readers Edition of “The Code Book” and my crypto CD-ROM.

9. New Search Engine on the Site

Finally, I have just moved the entire site (www.simonsingh.net) to a new host. The good news is that there is now a search engine for the site, accessible from the main menu on the home page. The bad news is that there might be a few glitches, although the host has been active for a month now and I have heard of only a couple of problems. If you do encounter a problem, then please

Cheerio,
Simon Singh.

Jokes and the Enigma Project for Schools

1. Joke Competition
2. Enigma Project for Schools
3. Mind Games on BBC4 this week
4. Crypto Titbit
5. Cryptogram
6. World’s greatest card trick
7. Which singer is in the PRESBYTERIANS?

1. Joke Competition

I have trawled through all your entries and have now drawn up a short list of 15 scientific or mathematical jokes. I am sorry if your joke didn’t make it, but there were dozens of jokes and in the end I had to whittle them down.

You can vote for your favourite joke until midnight on January 10th. You can see the shortlist of jokes and find out how to vote here.

The sender of the winning joke will receive a copy of ‘Laughlab’, a book by Richard Wiseman about the psychology of humour. And one of the people who voted for the winning joke will win a copy of the excellent ‘How Long is a Piece of String?’ by Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham, a quirky collection of tales about mathematics.

2. Enigma Project for Schools

Because I am writing a new book, I can no longer visit schools and give talks. However, I am working with ex-Science Museum explainer Claire Ellis and we have started the Enigma Project. Claire is taking my genuine Enigma cipher machine to schools and giving lessons and workshops on codes and code breaking. I think Claire’s school visits help bring mathematics to life, showing its applications and explaining how mathematics has influenced history. You can find out more about the Enigma Project here.

3. Mind Games on BBC4 this week

Sorry for the error in my last email regarding my new TV series all about puzzles for BBC4. Mind Games was supposed to start before Christmas, but in fact it now starts on Friday (10 January) and runs for five Fridays at 7.30pm. The programmes are a mixture of number, word, physical, silly and knotty puzzles. You can find out more about Mind Games here.

4. Crypto Titbit

I was flicking through a back issue of New Scientist magazine and came across something that I thought was rather interesting. In 2000, after 67 years of keeping it secret, the US Government announced that in 1933 William Friedman and the National Security Agency applied for a patent on a way of generating an unbreakable code. The patent describes and sketches a typewriter keyboard with electrical connections made through wheels. The wheels move randomly thereby altering the connection paths, so that the typed output apparently bears no systematic relation to the input. This system seems to be remarkably similar to the German Enigma cipher, which is probably why the patent was classified.

5. Cryptogram

This time the prize is a copy of my cryptography CD-ROM and the Young Readers Edition of The Code Book, just published in America and to be published in the UK sooner or later. The book is ideal for 12-16 year olds, Because the prize is aimed at junior and teenage codebreakers, this cryptogram is not too difficult to crack. You can find it here.

The winner of last month’s cryptogram competition was Keith Wallace from Dublin, and a copy of The Science of Harry Potter by Roger Highfield is on its way to you. You can find the solution and information about ISBN error correction via a link at the bottom of this page.

I received more correct solutions than ever before for this cryptogram, so I have also sent translations of my books to six runners-up. Books are in the post to Renato Lucindo in Brazil, Robert Wieser in Austria, Arnaud Le Breton and Anders Haugen in Norway, Klaus Lierschaft in Germany and Roberto Pesce in Italy.

The online book bookshop was closed over Christmas, but it is now open again. You can visit the shop here.

6. World’s greatest card trick

I recently came across an incredibly clever mathematical card trick. You can find out more here.

7. Which singer is in the PRESBYTERIANS?

This is one of my favourite puzzles from the Mind Games series. If you can solve the anagram, then you might win a copy of Cryptography by world famous cryptographers Fred Piper and Sean Murphy. The book is subtitled A Very Short Introduction, and it is indeed just a primer, but one of the best around. To enter, just send me an email with the answer in your subject header, and the body of the email should contain your name, address and nothing else.

Good luck and cheerio,

Simon Singh.

Ps. If you need to email me, then please do not reply to this address, as your email will not reach me. Please go via the website and click the contact button. It takes me ages to answer emails, as I am struggling to keep up with my correspondence, so please be patient.

Upcoming TV and Radio

1. Upcoming TV and radio broadcasts
2. Christmas offer – free Crypto CD-ROM
3. Bristol Lecture
4. Great Science and Mathematics Books
5. Last month’s challenge & Joke Competition
6. Cryptogram

1. Upcoming TV and radio broadcasts

It’s been a busy autumn, and you can see and hear the results during the rest of the year.

“Serendipity of Science” is back with a new series on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday at 9pm on Nov 27 and Dec 4 and 11. More information (including details of how to listen on-line) here.

I am currently recording a TV series based on puzzles for BBC4. It runs for the first 5 Friday nights of 2003 at 7.30pm, but please check the BBC4 website to check, as times may change.

Finally, I have just recorded a programme with Richard Wiseman for Discovery Europe. “Funny You Should Ask” is a peculiar look at wacky science. The transmission dates are Dec 21 & 26 at 10.30pm, but times may change so please check the Discovery website.

2. Christmas offer – free Crypto CD-ROM

The on-line shop has been open for a month now and the response has been great. Please place Christmas orders by Dec 15 to allow time for postage.

As a bonus, any orders over £10 placed before the end of the year will receive a free copy of the Crypto CD-ROM. The shop can be found here.

3. Bristol Lecture

I am lecturing at the Hewlett-Packard Labs in Bristol on Wednesday 27 November. Details here.

4. Great Science and Mathematics Books

There is a new section on the website, which lists my favourite science and mathematics books, along with dozens of book reviews. This section of the site also includes pages devoted to fictional science, children and cryptography. If you are looking for a science book to give somebody for Christmas, then you might find some ideas by visiting the section.

I am also interested in putting your book recommendations on the site. You can find out how to contribute by visiting the Great Science Books section at the same page.

5. Last month’s challenge & Joke Competition

Last month’s rattleback competition did not generate a huge number of entries … zero to be exact. So I am going to put a bit more effort into thinking about the next competition, which means that it won’t be ready until the next newsletter.

In the meantime, you can still enter the science and mathematics joke competition here.

6. Cryptogram

The new cryptogram challenge revolves around understanding the intricacies of ISBN numbers. The prize is a copy of “The Science of Harry Potter” by Roger Highfield. Details of the cryptogram can be found here [entries now closed].

Last month’s cryptogram winner was Steve Fletcher in Sussex. Well done – the prize is in the post. The answer to the pangram is at the bottom of the substitution cryptogram page.

And that’s everything for 2002. Have a great holiday and I will be back in touch next year.

In the meantime, if you want to find out the latest news about the race to break the Erdos-Bacon record, then please read the update here.

Cheerio,
Simon Singh.

Oops! … & The Code Book on CD-ROM now available

1. The CD-ROM is now available
2. My favourite mathematics joke at the moment
3. The on-line shop is now open
4. Lectures, Theatre of Science, radio broadcasts
5. New Stuff (Advice for writers, Cartoons)
6. This month’s challenge
7. Cryptogram

Apologies to those of you who received an empty newsletter on 23 October…. Or was it an example of steganography?

The temporary glitch also affected some people’s attempts to subscribe to the newsletter, but if you are receiving this newsletter then you have no need to worry. The problem has now been fixed and the mail server is back to normal.

1. The CD-ROM is now available

At last, the interactive CD-ROM version of The Code Book is available. It has encryption pages, code breaking tools, mathematics, history, animations, video clips and even a virtual Enigma machine.

I think that it’s a great companion to the book, or a fun introduction to cryptography if you are new to the subject. And it contains material for people of all ages. The aim of the project is to make the CD-ROM available at a minimal price, which means just £5 … or just £3 for schools. I am particularly keen to get the CD-ROM into schools, as the reaction from teachers has already been very positive.

I know that this will annoy a significant fraction of you, but the CD-ROM is only available for PCs. Sorry, but at the moment I have neither the time nor the money to make it MAC compatible. If a MAC version does become available, then I will let you know via the newsletter.

Find out more about the CD-ROM and how to obtain it here.

2. My favourite mathematics joke at the moment

“There are 10 kinds of people in the world – those who understand binary, and those who don’t.”

Heard it before? Not funny? Think you can do better? Well, send me your favourite mathematical or scientific joke by December 25th 2002, and we’ll see if we can find the world’s funniest one. It will be a veritable geeky gigglefest. You can find out how to send me your joke by visiting here.

I will pick my favourite ten jokes, put them on a page for you to rate at the end of the year, and the sender of the winning joke will receive a copy of “Laughlab”, a book by Richard Wiseman about the psychology of humour, and a copy of the excellent “How Long is a Piece of String?” by Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham, a quirky collection of tales about mathematics.

If you want to find out about Dr Richard Wiseman’s search to find the world’s funniest joke (not just science or mathematics), then you can visit The Laugh Lab.

3. The on-line shop is now open

Up until now, purchasing copies of The Code Book and Fermat’s Last Theorem at the site has only been possible for those who live in the UK. At last, these books and others can be bought by anyone and they can be sent anywhere. You can order on-line or by post.

In particular, several translations of my books are available, and these can now be bought on-line. And, of course, you can order the CD-ROM version of The Code Book.

All books are signed, and all profits go to ActionAid.

Find out more here.

4. Lectures, Theatre of Science, radio broadcasts

No more Theatre of Science until next year, and only one lecture in Bristol on November 27 to report.

I will be presenting “Material World” on Radio 4 (92-95FM and 198LW) on Thursday 24 October (today) at 4.30pm (UK time). This is my favourite science radio show, and when the regular host (the brilliant Quentin Cooper) is on holiday they let me have a go. The programme will be followed by a web chat about search engines. Details about how to take part can be found here.

5. New Stuff

Peter Tallack, literary agent, gives his advice for budding science writers

Mathematics Cartoon Gallery

There is even a cartoon about Fermat’s Last Theorem by Craig Swanson. You can see more of his terrific work here.

6. This month’s challenge

In a maximum of 300 words, explain why a rattleback (a.k.a. “a celt”) does what it does. No equations allowed. You can find out what a rattleback is by searching the web, but essentially they are objects with a curved base that spin clockwise, but not anticlockwise. These weird objects amaze me, but I have never really understood how they work. The best explanation wins a copy of “Fingerprints” by Colin Beavan, an excellent history of the subject. (There is no connection between fingerprints and rattlebacks – it is just a great book and I needed a prize for the competition).

Last month, I asked you to name actors to play roles in Fermat’s Last Theorem – The Movie. The winner was Steve Futch from Florida, who suggested Leelee Sobieski as Sophie Germain. You can see his other suggestions at the website, where you will also find some of the other ideas that have been sent in (Pete Postlethwaite as Andrew Wiles, or John Malkovich as Monsieur Fermat?). Thanks to everyone who entered. It was great fun reading your suggestions.

7. Cryptogram

A new competition cryptogram is ready to be cracked and another book and CD-ROM are waiting for the winning entry. This month’s cryptogram is trickier, so it will be interesting to see if there are as many correct entries as last month. The cryptogram can be found here.

Last month’s winner was Dave Adams at Devenport High School. Well done – the prize is in the post. In case you didn’t crack it, the answer is at the bottom of the substitution cryptogram page.

That’s All Folks,
Cheerio,
Simon Singh.

PS. If you need to email me, then please do not reply to this address, as your email will not reach me. Please go via the website and click the contact button. It takes me ages to answer emails, as I am struggling to keep up with my correspondence, so please be patient.

The Black Chamber is open

1. The Black Chamber is open
2. London lecture and Theatre of Science
3. New Content – Turing Memorial, Cryptograms…
4. Prize Competition – Which actor should play Fermat?

1. The Black Chamber is open

For a few months I have been working on a new interactive section of the website called the Black Chamber. You can now visit it here.

It has pages that enable you to encode messages and decode messages using a variety of classical ciphers, such as the rail fence cipher, the substitution cipher and the Vigenere cipher. It also has code breaking tools and some cryptograms for you to crack.

It is a space where you can explore cryptography interactively. Together, the pages act as a fun introduction to codes and code breaking. Some of the pages are quite challenging, but there is also plenty of material for children and teenagers.

2. London lecture and Theatre of Science

I am not lecturing as much as I used to, but I am giving a public lecture on cryptography in central London on September 28th. You can find more details here.

Theatre of Science went to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Richard Wiseman and I had great fun and the audiences were brilliant, so we intend to return next year with a longer run.

And the Sleek Geeks performed a 4-night sell out run at the Soho Theatre in London last week. These two Australians are fantastic and you might still be able to catch them if you live in Leicester or London. They are performing at the BA Science Festival at Leicester University on Tuesday and Thursday evening (10 and 12 Sept) – call 0116 223 1817 for more details. And they are performing at the Royal Institution in London on the evening of Friday 13 September – call 020 7409 2992 for more details.

In fact, I would recommend visiting the Royal Institution website to find out about their other science lectures. They have an excellent and wide-ranging series of talks.

3. New Content – Turing Memorial, Cryptograms…

In addition to the Black Chamber, there is more new stuff on the website.

Turing Memorial – take a look at the memorial in Manchester dedicated to Alan Turing.

Cryptograms – stretch your brain by cracking coded messages. Perhaps try the crypto competition and win a copy of The Code Book.

Articles about Simon Singh – a few features written by other journalists about me and my work.

Glyphs, etc. – a new section about the decipherment of ancient scripts. Although not entirely relevant, this section also includes a page about the Navajo code talkers of the Second World War, whose story forms the basis of a new Hollywood film.

Episode 2 of my biography – the College Years. Find out why I was the most boring student in London and how I went from being a physicist to a journalist.

4. Prize Competition – Which actor should play Fermat?

Before I set a new competition, you might be interested to know that the answers to the last competition are available here.

Only three people got the Fermat quiz completely right, so the 25 pilot crypto CD-ROMs were also sent to those entrants who nearly got 100% correct. The published version of the CD-ROM will be available next month.

Today’s competition is slightly different. Believe it or not, there was a time when a Hollywood studio was interested in turning my book about Fermat’s Last Theorem into a movie. The film never materialised, but it was fun to think about who might play the main roles. Perhaps Tom Hanks could convey the angst and the ecstasy of Andrew Wiles’s life, or maybe Sarah Michelle Gellar could play a feisty Sophie Germain.

Your challenge is to name three actors who you think would be ideal to play Pierre de Fermat, Andrew Wiles and Sophie Germain. If you want to suggest a fourth actor to play another role (e.g., Ken Ribet or Evariste Galois) then please go ahead.

Just email your suggestions by visiting the contact page of my website. Please put “Fermat movie roles” in the subject header.

The prize is a copy of The Science Book. It is a lavishly illustrated book that highlights 250 of the greatest moments in science. It is edited by Peter Tallack and I wrote the foreword. Signed copies of The Science Book can be bought at my online shop.

In case you need some inspiration, then you might like to visit the Maths and the Movies site.

And if you would like to read about a strange link between mathematics and the movies then you might want to read my article about Erdos-Bacon numbers.

Cheerio,
Simon Singh.

New website & Theatre of Science goes to Edinburgh

1. www.simonsingh.net is up and running
2. Theatre of Science in Edinburgh and London
3. Win a crypto CD-ROM
4. Second-hand crypto books for sale

1. www.simonsingh.net is up and running

Apologies for the huge delay in sending out this newsletter, but I have been busy working on the revamped version of my website. It is on-line at last, with lots of new content and features.

For example, I made a BBC documentary about Fermat’s Last Theorem, and at the new site you can read the transcript and find out what went on behind the scenes. These TV doc pages sit inside the Fermat Corner, where you will also find mathematical and historical material, a quiz and some pages about the wacky side of Fermat, including a feature on Fermat’s Last Tango, a musical based on the story of Andrew Wiles. In other words, there is much more content compared to my previous website.

In the new Radio section, you can find out more about my Radio 4 series entitled “5 Numbers”, and you can even hear the entire series via the Internet. And in the same section you can find out more about my other Radio 4 series, “The Serendipity of Science”. By the way, last year’s Serendipity series is going to be transmitted again at 9pm on Thursdays, starting on August 15.

The amount of content has increased five-fold, and there is even more to come over the next few months. The existing Articles section already has a few of my articles, such as my bizarre piece about Erdos-Bacon numbers and a piece on A Beautiful Mind, but this is only the start. This Article section will gradually build into a complete archive.

I hope that next month the Black Chamber will be in place, a part of the site where you will be able to play with interactive encryption and code breaking pages. And the bookshop will soon be able to take credit card payments. At the moment, signed copies of The Code Book and Fermat’s Last Theorem can only be paid for by cheque and they can only be sent to UK addresses.

A big thanks to Mina Varsani, my new assistant, who has been an enormous help in revamping the website.

2. Theatre of Science in Edinburgh and London

In my last newsletter I announced my stage debut in Theatre of Science, performing alongside Richard Wiseman at the Soho Theatre. The reviews were brilliant – comedy and theatre critics thought that watching a couple of science lectures was a hot night out! The Evening Standard comedy critic said we “almost make academia sexy.” What’s On magazine called the show “an uplifting, thought-provoking and frequently hilarious alternative to the usual theatre fair.”

The show was such a success that we are taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe. Come along and see us at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar, 6.30pm, August 23-26. Call 0131-226 000 for tickets.

And Theatre of Science is also coming back to London’s Soho Theatre, but this time it will be the Sleek Geeks who will be performing on September 4, 5 and 6. They are a fantastic Australian double-act who I saw when I was in Sydney. You can find more details here.

3. Win a crypto CD-ROM

I am in the final phase of developing an interactive CD-ROM version of The Code Book. The first limited release is available to 25 people who tackle the Fermat trivia quiz, which you will find at:

[Apologies, CD-Rom no longer available]

Answers must be submitted by August 9th, and the winners will be the first 25 correct answers drawn out of the hat.

There is a slight catch – I am hoping that the winners will give me some feedback on the CD-ROM, so that I can polish it before burning 10,000 copies. Once the CD-ROM is generally available, I will let you know via the newsletter.

By the way – the answer to the last quiz was that Thomas Midgely (who also invented CFCs) came up with the idea of putting lead in petrol to reduce ‘knocking’. If anybody deserves a Nobel Prize for damaging the environment, it is Midgely. To be fair, both ideas seemed good at the time. Congratulations to John McKay from Quebec, Canada, who knew the answer and who won a copy of “It Must Be Beautiful” edited by Graham Farmelo.

4. Second-hand crypto books for sale

Finally, I thought that you might be interested to know that a few second-hand cryptography books have just come up for sale. The bad news is that they can only be bought as a job lot, and the asking price is £145,000.

Bernard Quaritch Ltd, the rare book dealer, has put together a collection of historic cryptography books and manuscripts, including a 1587 edition of Vigenère’s “Traicte des chiffrees” and Trithemius’s “Polygraphiae libri sex…” If you have some spare cash, then you might want to pay a visit to their shop, which is 5-8 Lower John Street, Golden Square, London, W1F 9AU.

Alternatively, you can buy copies of The Code Book by visiting my bookshop.

All profits go to ActionAid.

Cheerio,

Simon Singh.

“Simon on Stage”

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in sending out this newsletter, but it has been a ridiculously busy start to 2002, as I am currently embarking on a whole range of new projects that will come to fruition later this year. These range from a new TV series on BBC4 to relaunching my website.

In the meantime, here are a couple of things happening this spring.

First, and most exciting of all from my point of view, I am working on a new stage show that will be at London’s Soho Theatre in April. The idea is to present fun and accessible science lectures in a West End venue to see if we can attract a broad audience. I will be appearing with psychologist Richard Wiseman – that’s us in the picture above – and this what we’ll be talking about.

“What are the chances of that happening?” by Simon Singh
We live in a risk society, one in which there are no surefire bets. Doctors offer treatments with only a certain probability of success, climatologists discuss the likelihood global warming, and the dodgy chap on the street corner tempts us with games like 3-card Monty. But can mathematics help us to live longer, predict the future and beat the dealer? Everyone in the audience will get a chance to test their probability skills by placing a free bet – if you win, then I’ll buy you a drink.

“Mental Trickery” by Richard Wiseman
Magic is a complex and skilful art. However, there is more to magic than mere dextrous trickery. Psychology is central to the art of deception, and understanding the way the mind works is an important part of being a magician. In the second half of the show, Richard exposes the psychology behind the tricks. Using magic tricks, demonstrations, video clips, mind games and lots of audience participation, Richard shows how to become a master of deception.

Tickets £8 (£6) No booking fee.
Box Office 020 7478 0100 (24 hours)
17th, 18th, 24th, 25th April, 8pm
Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1.

My second bit of news is the repeat of 5 Numbers on Radio 4. The series starts on March 11 and runs each day that week at 3.45pm (UK time). The BBC is building its own website to accompany the series, but is not yet online, and in due course I will extend and improve my own web pages about “5 Numbers”. The series got a great response on its first airing, which is why the BBC have chosen to repeat it. It’s a fast-paced, slightly off-kilter look at five of the most important numbers in mathematics. If you are in the UK, then you can tune into the Radio 4 wavelengths 93.5 FM or 198 LW or listen via the web .

If you heard “5 Numbers” first time around, then you might be interested to know that I am also working on “5 More Numbers”, which will air later this year or early next year. This is a programme idea that could run and run.

Finally, in future I hope to offer a competition and prize in each newsletter. So here goes …

I recently reviewed “It Must be Beautiful – great equations of modern science”, edited by Graham Farmelo. I started my review with: “Many popular science books shun equations, partly due to overzealous editors who fear that the appearance of anything that looks like mathematics will frighten off potential readers. In contrast, here is a book that relishes equations, which celebrates their power and beauty, and which still manages to explain rather than baffle.”

Here’s the competition question: In my review, I mentioned that CFCs were invented in 1930 by Thomas Midgely. Although a great scientist, I said that he deserved a Nobel Prize for damaging the environment, because of which other scientific development? In other words, Midgely made two contributions to damaging the environment – discovering CFCs was one of them, what was the other?

If you know the answer, then please email it to ….
[Competition closed: the answer is that Midgely put lead in petrol.]

And that’s it.

Cheerio,
Simon Singh.

“Mathematics Teachers”

There is nothing much to report in terms of new projects, but I am currently working on a couple of things that I will be ready to announce early in the New Year. This includes a major relaunch of my website, which will have a really nifty (trans = stylish & clever) crypto-tutorial section, complete with interactive encryption and decryption tools.

Before continuing, I should say that whenever I use British-isms in this and future newsletters, I will explain their meaning in brackets. Apparently, the word ‘chuffed’ in my last newsletter caused some confusion to readers beyond British shores. It means ‘pleased’.

I have spent part of the autumn (trans = fall) writing about the teacher crisis in British schools, which is probably mirrored in many other countries. The situation is particularly bad in mathematics and science, with many students being taught by unqualified teachers. I do not claim to know what the solution is to teacher recruitment and retention, but at least I acknowledge that there is a problem, which means that I am one step ahead of the Government. Click here for the article that I wrote on the subject for the Daily Telegraph. If you agree with my sentiments and you live in the UK, then you might want to send an email expressing your views to the Secretary of State Estelle Morris at: dfes.ministers@dfes.gsi.gov.uk.

And if you are looking for Christmas presents, then I would recommend some of the books published by GT Labs and Jim Ottaviani. These are excellent comic books based on the lives of scientists such as Richard Feynmann, Albert Einstein and Lise Meitner. A new comic book, “Fallout”, has just been published, and you can find out details of this and Jim’s other books at Jim’s website.

That’s all folks.

Toodle pip (trans = farewell),
Simon.

“Science is built up of facts, as a house is built of stones; but an accumulation of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.”
Jules-Henri Poincaré