One criticism of mathematicians is that they always seem to have an answer for everything. Nothing is beyond their reach. Absolutely right. Take the Christmas menu for example. @joshuabull.bsky.social is your waiter.

From quadratics in Mesopotamia 4000 years ago to the higher-degree equations of Abel and Galois in the 19th century via a Renaissance quarrel, Robin Wilson tells the story of polynomials. All in less than 20 minutes. Watch: youtu.be/39nQRySRrsw

You were always on my mind. Zoe, Chiara and Holly sing a familiar song.

Three years to roam freely in the complexities of quantitative finance as part of the Oxford-Man and Mathematical Institutes, and as a research fellow @reubencollege.bsky.social, our newest graduate college. Full details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/79671

We all need someone to look up to, someone eminent. Or not eminent yet.

Our latest vacancies capture the scope of the mathematics that takes place in our home, the Andrew Wiles Building. Such a range of research areas - we have 16 research groups - enable our mathematicians to share ideas with colleagues working across the discipline. www.maths.ox.ac.uk/vacancies

When you put a mic on a ruler (we couldn't find a set square) and give it to three of our students...

What do we do when we're not doing maths? Maths.

Three things about Philip Maini: He's an eminent mathematical biologist He loves cows He lectures our second years on differential equations Here's his Differential Equations lecture, part two (featuring no cows): youtu.be/xcLaKM3sr1o

O little town of Oxford, How still we see thee lie. But above thy deep and dreamless sleep, Complex thoughts go by. Still not convinced? Don't worry, you have all Christmas to 'mull' it over. Closes 12 January. Full details of the role: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74844

Selfie, selfie, it's your call, who's the fairest of them all? Sam Howison, obviously. Except for one thing.

What's the key to a good night's sleep? No screen time before bed? No midnight snacks? No late night arguments? No mathematics?

A well-known equation: a pen + a slightly grey whiteboard (it has had a lot of hammer this term) + Philip Maini = the perfect student lecture Philip on Differential Equations, our latest to be made public: youtu.be/JgbuM_7rZuQ

Humanity has always pursued knowledge for its own sake. That pursuit has led us to some amazing places. Not least in mathematics. XTX Markets has made a substantial gift to Oxford Mathematics to support early career researchers working in pure mathematics. www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74457

In the end it's about the people. So come and meet the second years.

How much human hyperbole has been spent on job descriptions and advertisements? We're looking for two researchers in stochastic analysis. Details together with other vacancies: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/vacancies

Just as diseases evolve, so do the means to tackle them. Christl Donnelly will discuss how novel data sources, contact network analysis, and rigorous approaches to uncertainty are all now playing a part. Dec 3, 5.30 pm, Oxford (online later). Details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74823

A puzzle from the Age of Enlightenment. Though three centuries of enlightenment haven't made it any less surprising. Watch Robin Wilson's talk on the history of the endless number. It's π time: youtu.be/MVfqWtKa8Yg

Mathematics and physics often seem to occupy a world that seems designed to exclude. Higher dimensions are one of the best (or worst) examples. Four dimensions are just a start. Why not 5? Or 10? And they don't stop there. They are a challenge for mathematicians too. Here's Luci.

Where on earth is the best laboratory to demonstrate the beauty of fluid dynamics? Actually, it’s not on earth. Here is the story of the soft cell. And a longer read: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74308

Our inaugural Regius Professor of Mathematics, Andrew Wiles, retires in 2026 (not that mathematicians ever truly retire) and we are looking for his successor, starting in October of that year. Full details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74751

Introducing Pluto, a small, hungry cat and, like all his fellow Aristocats, an optical superhero. Everyone wants to be a cat.

You never know who'll you meet round here. People working in functional analysis or probability, mathematical physicists, applied mathematicians trying to model our environment, to name just a few. All of us hanging out in the same building. Come and join us: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/vacancies

What have the Pythagorean theorem and IKEA got in common? Watch Robin Wilson's full talk on the story of the Pythagorean theorem: youtu.be/GQfML3Q9lt0

Do you take your work home with you? It's kinda hard to avoid if you are a mathematician. The maths just follows you wherever you go. Sam Howison prepares vegetables.

Just another seminar on just another day...

Many people think mathematics lives on the dark side. Turns out they were right.

We're kicking off our next series of student lectures with a hot topic as Ian Hewitt's 'Mathematical Geoscience' 4th year lecture looks at the mathematics, physics and chemistry behind models of the Earth's temperature. Watch: youtu.be/zsjIR4Qd7t4

Government got problems. Climate got problems. Energy policy got problems. We all got problems. So we need a wide range of people to hang out together to tackle them. Becky Crossley describes an Evidence House hackathon (no, not that sort of hackathon).

The freedom to go for it for three years? Our Hooke and Titchmarsh Fellowships in pure and applied mathematics give you the space to follow a research path of your choice, a path that has proved instrumental in the careers of many previous fellows. Details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/vacancies

Robin Wilson's second talk on the equations that make mathematics stars the man whose work was studied in universities and schools for over 2000 years. Apparently Lewis Carroll for one was miffed when alternatives were used. α + β+ γ = 180°: youtu.be/pgvMlEA_Js0

Quick, quicker, less quick. Amandine Aftalion describes the trajectory of a 100m runner in this clip from her Oxford Mathematics Public Lecture. Watch the full lecture here: youtu.be/UeGXwvXqUNA

When you next go swimming, take some maths with you. And don't worry, maths is waterproof. Nathan Creighton is in at the deep end.

And so it begins. 9 am, first day of term, our first-year undergraduates gather for the first lecture of their Oxford mathematical lives. James Munro is our guy rolling the boards.

You too can write to your mathematical heart's content on our Common Room tables. And you can do it everyday for three years as part of a research group exploring connections between probability and number theory. Role details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74283

Next time someone calls you a birdbrain you should perhaps take it as a compliment. Christiana Mavroyiakoumou is flying high.

You'd think all Olympic athletics tracks would be the same. And even if they aren't, as long as they are 400 metres, it won't affect the results. But you'd be wrong on both counts. Amandine Aftalion explains. @cnrs.fr

Somewhere on some deserted shore is a trace of mathematics. And @jdlotay.bsky.social.

The autumn sun has collapsed across the Oxford horizon and friends are gathered to abandon thoughts of the working day. But one of them is a mathematician.

The nights in Oxford are drawing in and so are our students, drawing in from all corners of the globe for another term of exploration, mathematical and personal. Groups and Group Actions is one of the courses they'll study later this year. Here's Group Homomorphisms: youtu.be/3nMTZm7VAOk

That sinking feeling. In our latest foray into the mathematics of the kitchen, Sam Howison is chained to the kitchen sink. Quite right. Only another 170 or so episodes to go.

Come fly with us, let's fly, let's fly away. Full details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/74169

What's it like round here? What are the people like? What do they do when they are not doing maths? Do they have fun? Films about people who also do maths. @joshuabull.bsky.social

Probability can be counterintuitive. Or, to put it another way, plain baffling. But there's always an explanation. Becky Crossley picks her favourite example. And tries to draw a goat. Watch the full video (with extra maths): youtu.be/zf17UgsFYCw

Oxford, 6th May 1954, Roger Bannister becomes the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. But what is the mathematics behind such feats? Oxford, 25th September 2025, Amandine Aftalion will tell us. Full information including online details: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/72944

What did you have for breakfast this morning? A couple of slices of toast perhaps? Great, but a little more burnt than you wanted? It often happens, doesn't it. Blame maths. Sam Howison sets off the smoke alarm.

Quantum is a foreign country; they do things differently there. Mathematical and Theoretical Physics master's student Anjali Waghmare is our quantum go-between.

It's a little-known fact that Fibonacci was a keen marathon runner. Okay, he wasn't but he could be an invaluable help if you are a keen marathon runner. @joshuabull.bsky.social is very keen.

Job done. Fifty minutes of writing and explaining primary decomposition. One of two lectures we're showing from Dawid Kielak's third year Commutative Algebra course. As satisfying as September sun. Watch: youtu.be/fmZWvBGOalk

Amazing what you can do with some wood, some glue and some mathematics. André Henriques introduces his self-made contact structure.