Series 3, Episode 2: That’s Not What A UFO Looks Like
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Against all odds, Series 3 continues with a complicated automotive engineer from Helen, a complicated visual processing system from Steve, and a complicated restaurant triangulation problem from Matt:
- 00:55 – Helen’s bit
- 22:35 – Steve’s bit
- 41:45 – Matt’s bit
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Corrections and clarifications:
- None, so far.
And here’s a heap of extra Unnecessary Detail from this episode:
- If you want to investigate Bertha Benz and her epic ride for yourself, Wikipedia and this article are good places to start.
- Enjoy this tech spec for the original Motorwagen on the Mercedes Benz Archive.
- And the full song, uninterrupted by Matt, Steve, Helen or podcast adverts, here on Bandcamp.
- Check out Helena’s other stunning work as a performer, and Jenni’s other brilliant work as a composer.
- Special thanks go to the five extra shouty shouters who contributed their voices to the track: Tiernan Douieb, Robbie Hudson, James Sherwood, Jan Schneider and Colin Arney. Thank you again!
- Mercedes Benz made a short film about Bertha Benz a few years ago, and the sound design is particularly good if you like that sort of thing.
- And I was on Neil and Dave’s podcast “Why Would You Tell Me That?” talking more about Bertha’s backstory.
- As he mentions, Steve makes lots of his own videos here.
- What does ISO mean anyway?
- Find out how Accommodating Intraocular Lenses – aka those plastic eye implants – work.
- The Dress.
- Why does it take our eyes so long to adjust to darkness?
- See below for a classic UFO image, and the dome of the Hesperia Tower Hotel.
- The mathematically minded engineer Paul Shepherd can be found over here.
- Check out this Disdyakis triacontahedron! And see a render below!
- The roof of the British Museum’s Great Court is also pictured below, and you can see more pictures here.
- Read this paper titled “The analytic and numerical definition of the geometry of the British Museum Great Court Roof” by Chris J K Williams.
- Hmmmm…. where have we seen these kind of shapes before? Oh yeah, on the D120 dice available exclusively from Maths Gear.
- Sign up to get updates about – and first-dibs on ordering – Matt’s new book about loving triangles (the mathematical kind) here.
- Our live new material nights in London are back! Bi-monthly at the Cockpit Theatre near Marylebone, tickets available here.
A Podcast Of Unnecessary Detail is part of the Acast Creator Network. Thanks for listening!
A close-up of a UFO, according to Matt Parker
A disdyakis triacontahedron
The glass triangles that make up the Great Court roof on top of the British Museum