Monthly Archives: December 2016

Happy Boxing Day from The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar!

Happy Boxing Day!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I were tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style.

calendar_title

A final post, to provide the solution to Friday’s puzzle.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR

Continue reading

Merry Christmas from The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar!

Merry Christmas!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I were tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style.

calendar_title

Thanks for following the Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar. Just a few loose ends to wrap up, with a solution to our Christmas Eve puzzle today, with the solution to Friday’s puzzle (Santa’s Dressing Room Disasters) to come tomorrow…

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR

Continue reading

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 24

Happy 24th of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…

And so, the final day of the Impossible Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar has arrived. Santa is about to set off, but there’s still time to take a quick register of the reindeer:

“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen!
“On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!”*

But, wait a minute… Which one is which?

day_24

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!

The solution to this puzzle will be posted tomorrow (Christmas!) with the solution to yesterday’s Dressing Room Disaster puzzles to follow on Boxing Day (mainly because the explanation of the solution is taking a while to write up!).

Merry Christmas everyone!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COMPLETE CALENDAR


* I was interested to learn that “Donner and Blitzen” were actually named “Dunder and Blixen” (or other variations thereof) in early versions of the text. I suppose the versions in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer must have ultimately overwhelmed these alternatives.

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 23

Happy 23rd of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…

We’re getting to the business end of this advent calendar now and the puzzling is getting serious. High stakes stuff today, as Santa needs help getting into that iconic costume…

Two levels of challenge…

Merry:

day_n

And Mayhem!

day_nb

(For the advanced puzzle, note that not every path starting and ending in A involves a complete circuit of the pole. For example, if Santa follows the path ABCDBA, he has not completed a circuit.)

Each time you enter a room, you MUST follow all of the instructions written there.

For extra credit, try to find Santa’s shortest possible path in each case. And for extra extra credit, prove that your path really is the shortest.

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes.

The answers for these two puzzles won’t be available until Boxing Day, so you have an extra couple of days to think about them.

And join us tomorrow for the final day of the Impossible Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR SO FAR

Continue reading

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 22

Happy 22nd of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…

You may remember from Day 10 that Santa is not all that good with passwords and security. Well…

day_r

Here’s the letter in copyable form:

05-06-02-19 20-02-15-21-02. 17-13-06-02-20-06 04-16-22-13-05 26-16-22 03-19-10-15-08 14-06 02 ~**MESSAGE~CORRUPTED**~ 6765-10946-8-233-233-1-10946-8-5 55-3-987-6765-1-34-8-5-4181-987-610. 10946-34-1-610-144 121393-987-17711. 1-1-4181-1 (1-21-8-5 8)

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR SO FAR

Continue reading

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 21

Happy 21st of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…

Today, we’re investigating a crime…

day_z

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR SO FAR

Continue reading

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 20

Happy 20th of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…

OK, since the upcoming final four puzzles of the calendar may be a little tough, today, some light relief…

c0hoc0rxaaqpv5f

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR SO FAR

Continue reading

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 19

Happy 19th of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…

c0dnmmowgaabrhw

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR SO FAR

Continue reading

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 18

Happy 18th of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…

Today’s puzzle has two levels of difficulty…

Fun:

day_10

… and Fiendish:

day_10b

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR SO FAR

Continue reading

The Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar
Day 17

Happy 17th of December!

Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of ChristmasHannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…
 day_s

The lyrics were created using the same Markov model used to generate the Queen’s tweets. How many of the nine Christmas songs can you identify?

Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE CALENDAR SO FAR

Continue reading