Tommaths (he/him)
LightNews LightNews
banner
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Tommaths (he/him)
@teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
440 followers 12 following 380 posts
I'm Tom, a freelance Museum Learning Consultant who wants to help museums & galleries make more of the maths that is fundamental to the stories & objects of each & […]

🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mathstodon.xyz/@TeaKayB, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Posts Replies Media Videos
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
For the first #mathsjam in *ages* I remembered my Mathscot: meet The Rat! I'm not sure what he's clambering on, there.
A plush white rat wearing a colorful knitted scarf sits perched on top of a large illustrated book titled The Mathematicians' Library, with windows and chairs softly blurred in the background.
November 23, 2025 at 9:43 AM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
I'm at a conference*. It's a maths conference*.

#mathsjam #mathstoday

*Well, it's a gathering.
A brightly colored triangular quilt hangs on a display stand. The quilt features three large swirling spiral patterns made of small rainbow-colored triangles, set against a red background with striped rainbow borders. Around it are additional textile pieces: several looped, stuffed rings in rainbow colors suspended above, and geometric fabric shapes and small quilt samples arranged on a black cloth below. The display is set indoors in front of windows and informational posters.
November 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Drop me a line if you'd like a signed copy of The Mathematicians' Library for £25 (+ £5 p&p in the UK, unless you can pick it up from Milton Keynes!)

A big, chunky hardback book with glossy pages and full-colour pictures throughout: a perfect gift for the slightly nerdy bookworm in your life!
The rather attractive cover of the hardback book, The Mathematicians' Library, by Thomas K. Briggs, with text overlaid that advertises "author-signed copies available" for £25 + £5 p&p (UK only).
November 2, 2025 at 5:54 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
I quite liked the juxtaposition of this copy of The Mathematicians' Library with another book, in Blackwell's yesterday. I spotted 4 copies altogether - that's the second-most I've seen together in the wild, outside my living room!
A copy of The Mathematicians' Library (by Thomas K. Briggs) lies next to a copy of The Madman's Library (by Edward Brooke-Hitching)
October 30, 2025 at 12:49 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Spotted this in a second-hand bookshop in Oxford and couldn't really leave it there.

If the intersection of maths and history (and its possibilities for enriching education) seem like it might hold some interest for you, join in the discussion via historyand.mathsy.space

#mathstoday 🏛️🎓
A hardback book with a faded grey cover and the faint teasings of the outline in slightly lighter grey of an animal rearing up to the left of the front cover (it's the edge of a coat of arms which wraps around the spine, but that's not visible in this photograph). The book is titled "Mathematics in the Archeological and Historical Sciences" in bold, black lettering, with "edited for The Royal Society & The Romanian Academy by F.R. Godson, D.G. Kendall FRS and P. Tâutu" in smaller black italics below.
October 30, 2025 at 10:13 AM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
I think The Mathematicians' Library would make a great Christmas present for the nerdy bibliophile who's into history in your life, and a *signed* copy would be even better...

... but has everyone who's going to buy a copy from me already done so?

Is it […]

[Original post on mathstodon.xyz]
The cover of The Mathematicians' Library (The books that unlocked the power of numbers) by Thomas K. Briggs.
October 17, 2025 at 11:22 AM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
#viewfromahotelwindow
A road separates the bottom third of the view, which is the roof area of a lower part of the same building, from some buildings on the other side, under a grey sky. The occasional tree is dotted throughout.
October 11, 2025 at 7:36 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
[Food pic]

This was breakfast.

#longgonefood
A circular brown stoneware plate with a high ridged edge rests on a table the surface of which looks like some kind of deep-universe picture from NASA; all speckled white on a black background, with red nebulous patterns throughout. A knife and fork sit at 45 degrees, the head of the fork in the centre of the plate and chocolate smears on the knife's blade. On the top-right off the plate sits some orange peel and bacon fat curled up in a quarter of a pomegranate's skin. A toothpick lies nonchalantly in this area, its head resting on the plate's rim.
October 10, 2025 at 11:01 AM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
My mum's dog (say hello to Dylan) likes to curl up for a sleep behind the curtain, but he does it so often the curtain needs cleaning more often than mum would like, so she made two drawstring bags out of the same material and washes them instead. Genius!
A fluffy dog hiding behind a curtain. The base of the curtain is in a bag made from the same flowery material as the curtain.
September 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Very proud to be on the winning team in the #gemconference2025 pub quiz with Matt, Louise, Louise, and Sarah!
A certificate on white A4 paper with a red border. The certificate reads GEM CONFERENCE 2025 QUIZ WINNERS! Congratulations! Rachel Tranter Director, September 2025 A small card attached to a red bag (with white polka dots). The card reads 'GEM quiz winners!'. An A5 notebook with a rough brown card cover and, in red, 'GEM, We connect and learn together.'
September 11, 2025 at 8:24 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Breaking: Leeds @waterstones has a copy of The Mathematicians' Library!

I'm in Leeds for a couple of days: buy it and I'll sign it for you if we can arrange to be in the same place at the same time.
A copy of The Mathematicians' Library nestles amongst others on the Popular Science shelves in Milton Keynes Waterstones!
September 9, 2025 at 8:21 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
The Mathematicians' Library is a popular science book, at least one cover of which is for sale in at least one Waterstones (Milton Keynes, if you're interested).

This is the first time I've seen it on the high street!
A copy of The Mathematicians' Library nestles amongst others on the Popular Science shelves in Milton Keynes Waterstones!
September 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Very much looking forward to the @gem.org.uk conference next week!

I'll be in-person, but note my pre-recorded online presentation (Wednesday)!

Find me at the conference for a chat, or get in touch online via TeaKayB.mathsy.space

Some reasons you might want […]

[Original post on mathstodon.xyz]
In white text on a light blue background, the text "GEM Conference 2025, Sustaining Our Practice - Sustaining Our World", and the information that it's also online from 10-12 September 2025. Three photographs appear down the right-hand side of the image: the middle one is the frontage of Leeds Museum (where the in-person conference is being held); the other two are of children in museums, looking interested.
September 4, 2025 at 9:08 AM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
I bet a lot of people think they have a clear idea of what goes on at a #maths conference.

Anyway, today at #tmip25 I attended an embroidery workshop.

#mathstoday
Embroidered with white thread on black felt, a sort of 9-pointed, curved-edge star design with smaller almost-squares sprouting at regular intervals from the edges (on the inside of the shape).
August 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
First time I've seen it in the wild! The Mathematicians' Library on sale at a stand run by Kenilworth Books at #tmip25

I was so surprised I accidentally signed them all!

#mathstoday #bookstodon #maths #history #historyofmaths
A copy of my book, The Mathematicians' Library, stands upright on a pillar of seven other copies stacked on top of each other. They are flanked by other maths-themed books.
August 28, 2025 at 9:32 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
A friend had this notification pop up on their phone today...

#mathstoday #maths #history

#imapublishedauthordontchaknow
A notification from the Kindle app saying "Coming soon for you: A book by an author you follow, "The Mathematicians' Library..." by Thomas K. Briggs, is coming out soon.
August 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
[Alcohol receptacle (also maths)]

I found a maths-flavoured beer!
A blue-grey beer can, the bottom half only is visible. Part of the hand holding it can be seen to the top-right of the image, and the background is out-of-focus high-street flooring. I can't remember what the pattern is called. But the name of the beer, in white letters underneath a sort of double overlapping triangle, is "Axiom of Choice".
August 20, 2025 at 8:10 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
The Open University are advertising for someone to marry a lecturer.
A screenshot of a job ad on LinkedIn: the Open University are looking for a "Lecturer in Law (Early Career)
July 29, 2025 at 8:02 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
This just arrived.
Me, a bespectacled, furry-faced man of 42, holding a book titled "The Mathematicians Library, The Books That Unlocked The Power of Numbers". My finger is pointing at the author's name, which is "Thomas K. Briggs". My face holds a look of shock and surprise.
June 3, 2025 at 3:39 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
#viewfromahotelwindow
A view of the skyline over Shepherd's Bush, from the slanted roof-window of a 5-story converted town house. The window gap is letterbox-shaped. The top two-thirds of the view shows a clear blue sky. The bottom portion shows mainly rooftops, with a collection of orange chimneys in the middle distance, and a taller black one closer to the camera. In the distance to the left can be seen some greenery, in amongst the buildings.
May 17, 2025 at 3:43 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
A free 1-day online #training course for #museum (etc) folk on 28/05/2025 you say?

What's the catch?

It's only available for people associated with a museum (or gallery, library, heritage site, etc) with a collection primarily based in #scotland.

Beyond […]

[Original post on mathstodon.xyz]
Finn Finity is Maths Week Scotland's mascot. A blue infinity symbol forms Finn's eyes, and the gap between its lobes is the rest of their face, coloured yellow and filled with a smile. from the bottom of the face protrude two legs, horizontally striped in pink and yellow, each ending in a yellow foot. Similarly coloured arms start at the outer extremes of Finn Finity's two lobes.
May 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
It was tough to find a new sticker for my laptop at the Museums + Heritage Show, but I managed it!
The grey, rectangular lid of my laptop with five stickers: a small black square with "I heart museums" (the "heart" is actually a pink heart-shape); one with "Talking Maths" in a speech bubble with a light blue background, and "in public" added outside the bubble; a small black rectangle in which a chalk drawn mastodon manipulates an abacus with its trunk above the text "mathstodon.xyz"; the text Maths Jam in black on a yellow background; and the new one: a black heart shape with the word "we" above it and "museums" below.
May 16, 2025 at 4:18 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
I've done my nerdy duty this morning, and had experienced an example of the clockwork of the universe, first-hand.
Two images of the sun protected through a pair of binoculars on to the back of a white envelope. The images are inside the shadow of the binoculars, and each shows a small, dark segment removed from it, like a smooth-edged bite taken out of the sun's disc.
March 29, 2025 at 12:12 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
In #mathstoday I listened to a podcast episode about space-filling curves.

https://pca.st/episode/daa80a51-8437-4eb0-b2e3-3d9c1248ba24

#maths
The cover image for the Mathematical Objects podcast: the background of this square image shows some mathematical objects such as a Rubik's cube and a noughts-and-crosses game made out of wood. Superimposed in large, friendly grey letters are the words MATHEMATICAL OBJECTS split over three lines.
February 2, 2025 at 5:13 PM
teakayb.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
Finally, we are visited by some folks in the Crimson Firehawk, which surely everybody knows (I know it because I just looked it up).

It might not be the most recognisable thing in all of Star Wars, but it is pretty Christmassy, and there's plenty of mulled […]

[Original post on mathstodon.xyz]
Built on a circular white base this Lego microscale build has two red wings with two engines each pointing backwards. The wings are attached, each with a single sloping white piece, to a red body that curves down to a translucent blue angled cockpit on top of a small flat red base. The ship hovers above a black, textured surface.
December 24, 2024 at 7:10 PM