Series 2, Episode 05: HEARTS AND MINDS
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In this episode, logical thought and raw emotion meet as Matt finds two numbers that say “I Love You”, Helen sings mathematical equations that are guaranteed to make your brain light up and Steve embarrasses himself with the science of blushing.
- 00:51 – Steve’s bit
- 11:15 – Matt’s bit
- 30:13 – Helen’s bit
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Corrections and clarifications:
- Liran Bromberg emailed to clarify that the Choco Leibnitz biscuit is – in fact – named after the mathematician. Which surprised Helen, who thought that all of the biscuits and “biscuits” mentioned in her song were just naming coincidences. Thanks for the bonus fact, Liran!
And here’s a heap of Unnecessary Detail from this episode:
- Steve recorded this episode in his warmest jacket. As always. See it on twitter, or below.
- Can Your Epidermis Even Lift?
- Optimal Stopping Problem as applied to dating. Warning: Results may vary…
- Amicable Numbers in Wikipedia.
- Buy Amicable Number Keyrings on Maths Gear.
- Statistically I Love You song and lyrics to download free on Helen’s Bandcamp page.
- Want to know what Wendy’s hand-crafted Pythagoras Cream looked like? Check it out below!
- The sheet of equations shown to and ranked by mathematicians – click on “Supplementary Material” and download DataSheet1.pdf.
- “The experience of mathematical beauty and its neural correlates” (Zeki et al, 2014)
- “The Biological Basis of Mathematic Beauty” (Zeki et al, 2018)

Steve in a nice warm jacket, as always

Presenting… the Pythagoras Cream! As created by the wonderful Wendy Staples.
A Podcast Of Unnecessary Detail is part of the Acast Creator Network. Thanks for listening!