Matt Parker#Recreational mathematics contributions

{{Short description|Australian comedian and mathematician (born 1980)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Matt Parker

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Matt Parker at Nine lessons and Carols for Godless People.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Parker speaking at Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People, 2013

| birth_name = Matthew Thomas Parker

| birth_place = Perth, Western Australia

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1980|12|22}}

| alma_mater = University of Western Australia

| known_for = {{flatlist|

}}

| occupation = Mathematics author and communicator

| spouse = {{marriage|Lucie Green|2014}}

| module = {{Infobox YouTube personality|embed=yes

| channel_handle = standupmaths

| channel_display_name = Stand-up Maths

| years_active = 2009-present

| genre = {{flatlist|

Education
comedy

}}

| subscribers = 1.31 million

| views = 167 million

| network =

| associated_acts = {{flatlist|

}}

| silver_button = yes

| silver_year = 2016

| gold_button = yes

| gold_year = 2022

| stats_update = 17 May 2025

}}

Matthew Thomas Parker (born 22 December 1980){{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf5OrthVRPA |title=Clutching at Random Straws |date=24 April 2014 |last=Parker |first=Matthew |series=LMS Popular Lecture Series 2010 |access-date=30 October 2016 |via=YouTube}}{{Rp|at=20:45|q=So, for example, uh, my birthday is the 22nd of December.}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99stb2mzspI |title=Why 1980 was a great year to be born... but 2184 will be better |time=02:45 |quote=It happens to me because I was born in the year 1980. |date=29 June 2015 |last=Parker |first=Matthew |access-date=30 October 2016 |via=YouTube}} is an Australian{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me9fCKNvBBE |title=Australian Bank Notes are the Best in the World |date=18 January 2016 |last=Parker |first=Matthew |series=Stand-up Maths |access-date=30 October 2016 |via=YouTube}} recreational mathematician, author, comedian, YouTube personality and science communicator based in the United Kingdom. His book Humble Pi was the first mathematics book in the UK to be a Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller. Parker was the Public Engagement in Mathematics Fellow at Queen Mary University of London.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_1irrPVt4M |title=Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension |date=2 December 2014 |last=Parker |first=Matthew |series=Talks at Google |access-date=30 October 2016 |via=YouTube}} He is a former teacher and has helped popularise mathematics via his tours and videos.

Early life and education

Matt Parker was born in Perth, Western Australia,{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Matt|date=2019 |title=Humble Pi|publisher=Allen Lane|oclc=1090809917|isbn=978-0-241-36019-4}}{{rp|77}} and grew up in the northern suburb of Duncraig.{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/standupmaths/status/1602600138081378305?s=48&t=ggFfxkas17FymyNEyGUkuQ|title=Matt Parker|website=Twitter}}{{Cite web|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/standupmaths/status/181359015123619840?lang=bg|title=Matt Parker|website=Twitter}} He began showing an interest in maths and science from a young age, and at one point was part of his school's titration team.Titration team here refers to the [http://www.nswtitration.com/Home.html NSW Schools Titration Competition].

Parker went to the University of Western Australia and started off studying mechanical engineering before he "realized the very real risk of being employable at the end of it." He switched into physics and later mathematics. His love of maths led him to want a job in the subject.

While at university, Parker wrote comedy for Pelican, the students' magazine, and produced comedy sketches. Having become interested in comedy, he enrolled on course for stand-up.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18kehjRa_Ig |title=Parker Square (with Matt Parker) |date=24 February 2019 |last=Haran |first=Brady J. |language=en |series=Numberphile Podcast |access-date=21 September 2019 |first2=Matthew |last2=Parker |via=YouTube}}

Career

File:Matt Parker at QEDcon 2011 (cropped).jpg in 2011]]

After college, Parker taught maths in Australia for a while before moving to London and continuing teaching. He became involved in support education, working with universities and other organizations to arrange maths talks. He later returned to teaching, before stopping after one year. He now helps students communicate mathematics to other people, speaks at schools, does media work, and occasionally writes about maths. His goal is "to get more people more excited about maths."

Parker has appeared in numerous YouTube videos, talking about various subjects related to mathematics. He has his own YouTube channel, "Stand-up Maths", with over one million subscribers,{{YouTube|u=standupmaths}} and also frequently appears as a guest on other popular channels such as Brady Haran's Numberphile{{cite web |url=http://www.numberphile.com/team/index.html |title=Videos about Numbers and Stuff |website=Numberphile.com |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011053111/http://www.numberphile.com/team/index.html |archive-date=11 October 2018 |url-status=dead }} and James May's Head Squeeze (now BritLab). Parker has made videos about unboxing calculators, including the Little Professor; he presents these videos as a member of a fictional "Calculator Appreciation Society".{{cite web|title=Unboxings|url=http://www.ssaarcasfpaa.com/|website=South Surrey And Associated Regions Calculator Appreciation Society for Professionals and Amateurs|access-date=23 October 2017}} He also appeared in a Tom Scott YouTube video, where they gave tips for users of the London Underground.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Patrick |title=25 Essential Tube Hacks From Londoners |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/there-is-currently-a-good-service-on-all-london-underground- |website=BuzzFeed |access-date=26 June 2019 |language=en |date=12 March 2015}}

In 2012, Parker and fellow comedian Timandra Harkness co-wrote a comedy show called Your Days are Numbered: The Maths of Death. They performed the show in Australia, at the Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, on tour around England and in Scotland, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.{{cite web | title=Your Days are Numbered Tour Dates | website=Your Days Are Numbered | url=http://yourdaysarenumbered.co.uk/ | access-date=12 November 2020}} Parker has also toured the UK solo and as part of comedy group Festival of the Spoken Nerd, along with Helen Arney and Steve Mould.{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/standup-mathematician-matt-parker-is-using-comedy-nights-to-preach-maths-to-big-audiences-9829504.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/standup-mathematician-matt-parker-is-using-comedy-nights-to-preach-maths-to-big-audiences-9829504.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-status=live |title="Stand-up mathematician" Matt Parker is using comedy nights to preach maths to big audiences |last=Usborne |first=Simon |date=30 October 2014 |work=The Independent |access-date=12 December 2015}} His first solo tour, Matt Parker: Number Ninja, finished in July 2013,{{cite web|last=Steckles |first=Katie |url=http://aperiodical.com/2013/04/matt-parker-number-ninja/ |title=Matt Parker: Number Ninja |publisher=The Aperiodical |date=30 April 2013 |access-date=12 December 2015}} while his second solo tour, "Matt Parker: Now in 4D", started in late 2014.{{cite web |url=http://lakinmccarthy.com/artists/matt-parker |title=Matt Parker |website=Lakinmccarthy.com |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222133855/http://lakinmccarthy.com/artists/matt-parker |url-status=dead }}

He has written the book Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension.{{cite web |last=Parker |first=Matt |url=http://www.janklowandnesbit.co.uk/matt-parker/things-make-and-do-fourth-dimension |title=Things To Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension | Books | Janklow & Nesbit |website=Janklowandnesbit.co.uk |access-date=12 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222115335/http://www.janklowandnesbit.co.uk/matt-parker/things-make-and-do-fourth-dimension |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/roots-of-unity/things-to-make-and-do-in-the-fourth-dimension-book-review/ |title=Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension (Book Review) |date=26 February 2015 |publisher=Scientific American |access-date=12 December 2015 |department=Blog Network}} His second book, Humble Pi, was released in March 2019 and was a Sunday Times #1 bestseller.{{cite web|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/300640/humble-pi/9780241360231.html|title=Humble Pi|website=Penguin Books|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803204529/https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/300640/humble-pi/9780241360231.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Parker|first=Matt|title=Humble Pi|url=http://www.janklowandnesbit.co.uk/matt-parker/humble-pi|access-date=15 June 2020|website=Janklow & Nesbit|archive-date=9 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709203354/http://www.janklowandnesbit.co.uk/matt-parker/humble-pi|url-status=dead}} In 2024, his third book, Love Triangle, was published.{{Cite web |title=Love Triangle by Matt Parker |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672455/love-triangle-by-matt-parker/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241209005809/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672455/love-triangle-by-matt-parker/ |archive-date=2024-12-09 |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}}

In 2014, Parker set up Think Maths, a team of experienced mathematics speakers who visit schools to run workshops and give talks for a wide range of ages and abilities, to show students the wider world of maths beyond school while giving them a chance to develop mathematical thinking skills.{{Cite web|url=https://www.think-maths.co.uk/|title=Welcome {{!}} Think Maths|website=www.think-maths.co.uk|access-date=21 September 2019}} In 2016, Parker appeared briefly as a guest on the British comedy panel game quiz show, QI.{{Cite web |title=Matt Parker on IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5166581/ |access-date=2024-08-10 |website=IMDb}}{{Cite tweet |last=Parker |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Parker |user=standupmaths |number=807221775138492418 |date=9 December 2016 |title=Tonight I make an appearance on the new episode of Qi! |access-date=19 March 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718020545/https://twitter.com/standupmaths/status/807221775138492418 |archive-date=18 July 2023 |quote= |ref=}}

File:QED 20161015 274.jpg in 2016]]

Parker has appeared on BBC Radio Four's The Infinite Monkey Cage with Robin Ince and Brian Cox. He has also talked about maths-related topics on BBC News, Sky News, Channel4, CBBC, and occasionally writes for The Guardian.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/matt-parker |title=Matt Parker |work=The Guardian |date=31 January 2011 |access-date=12 December 2015}} On TV, Parker is a regular commentator on Discovery's Outrageous Acts of Science. For the 2019 edition of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, televised on BBC Four, Parker assisted presenter Hannah Fry in several segments.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000crby|title=Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, 2019: Secrets & Lies|website=BBC Four|language=en-GB|access-date=27 December 2019}}

In October 2017, Parker started a petition to "Update the UK Traffic Signs Regulations to a geometrically correct football." In a YouTube video, he explained why the current football shape on traffic signs is incorrect and geometrically impossible. Parker described the current signs as a "national embarrassment" and said he hopes the petition will "help raise public awareness and appreciation of geometry." Parker discussed the issue on You Can't Polish A Nerd. According to him, the government initially dismissed the petition because he is a comedian. By November 2017, the petition had gained over 22,000 signatures. The UK government has responded by saying "the current football symbol has a clear meaning and is understood by the public. Changing the design to show accurate geometry is not appropriate in this context." Parker said he felt "like the Department for Transport had not read the petition properly". The official response stated it would be too costly to replace the current signs; however, Parker said he only asked for a "precedent for the new signs". In regards to the exact geometry of a football, Parker said he is "not asking for angles and measurements on the sign, just for it to look more like a football".{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41813720 |title=New signing? Fan kicks off over football |last=Fisher |first=Megan |date=31 October 2017 |access-date=17 November 2017 |publisher=BBC News}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPqKAGyajM |title=All UK football road signs are wrong! Join the petition for geometric change! |date=9 October 2017 |last=Parker |first=Matt |series=Stand-up Maths |access-date=23 October 2017 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=Dessau |first=Bruce |date=17 October 2017 |title=News: Nerd Sets Up Petition To Change Shape Of Road Signs |url=https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/4702/news-nerd-sets-petition-change-shape-road-signs |access-date=23 October 2017 |website=Beyond The Joke}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/punching-ups/2017/10/17/38169/the_government_is_about_to_talk_balls |title=The government is about to talk balls |series= Punching Up 2017 |publisher= Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide |date=17 October 2017 |website=www.chortle.co.uk |access-date=23 October 2017}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/10/petition_kicks_off_to_correct_geometrically_impossible_football_street_signs/ |title=Footie ballsup: Petition kicks off to fix 'geometrically impossible' street signs |last=Hall |first=Kat |date=10 October 2017 |website=www.theregister.co.uk |language=en |access-date=23 October 2017}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/Viral/someones-started-an-incredibly-serious-petition-on-football-signage-and-you-need-to-sign-it-36207246.html |title=Someone's started an incredibly serious petition on football signage and you need to sign it |date=8 October 2017 |newspaper=Belfasttelegraph |access-date=23 October 2017}} In 2024, he created a new petition to change the real footballs to look like the signs when viewed from one angle, because “if we can't get the signs changed to match a real football, maybe we can get the football changed to match the signs”.{{Cite web |title=Maths Balls |url=https://mathsballs.com/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=mathsballs.com}}

Together with another YouTube mathematics populariser, Vi Hart, Parker won the 2018 Communications Award of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics for "communicating the excitement of mathematics to a worldwide audience through YouTube videos, TV and radio appearances, book and newspaper writings, and stand-up comedy".{{citation|url=https://www.ams.org/news?news_id=3878|title=Vi Hart and Matt Parker to Receive 2018 JPBM Communications Awards|publisher=American Mathematical Society|work=News, Events and Announcements|date=8 December 2017}}

Parker hosts two podcasts. The newer of the two, A Podcast of Unnecessary Detail., is co-hosted with Helen Arney and Steve Mould; the three also perform as the comedy troupe Festival of the Spoken Nerd, and have a stage show titled An Evening of Unnecessary Detail, from which the podcast derives its name. In the podcast, each of the hosts brings a topic, usually maths or science related, which they explain to the audience. The first series of six episodes aired during September, 2020 as a way for the troupe to continue to perform their show during the COVID-19 pandemic. A second series of twelve episodes aired during 2022.{{cite web |title=A Podcast of Unnecessary Detail |url=https://festivalofthespokennerd.com/podcast/ |website=Festival of the Spoken Nerd |access-date=2 February 2023}} The older podcast is A Problem Squared, which is formatted as an advice-based podcast, and is co-hosted with author, comedian, and TV presenter Bec Hill. In A Problem Squared, each cohost presents a problem submitted by listeners, which they attempt to exhaustively solve via their own research, sometimes bringing in special guests. New episodes aired monthly from November 2019, to January 2022, and then semimonthly starting in March 2022.{{cite web |title=A Problem Squared |url=https://aproblemsquared.libsyn.com/ |website=A Problem Squared |access-date=2 February 2023}}

=Awards=

Parker was awarded the 2020 IMA-LMS Christopher Zeeman Medal in recognition of his "excellence in the communication of mathematics". The award citation highlights work on YouTube, his books, Think Maths, Maths Inspiration, MathsJam, Maths Gear, and his work in broadcast media.{{cite web |title=Matt Parker is awarded 2020 Christopher Zeeman Medal |date=17 July 2020 |url=https://ima.org.uk/14611/matt-parker-is-awarded-2020-christopher-zeeman-medal/ |publisher=Institute of Mathematics & its Applications |access-date=11 August 2021}}{{cite web |title=Matt Parker is awarded 2020 Christopher Zeeman Medal |url=https://www.lms.ac.uk/news-entry/17072020-1434/matt-parker-awarded-2020-christopher-zeeman-medal |publisher=The London Mathematical Society |access-date=11 August 2021}}

On 15 August 2024, the main-belt asteroid 314159 Mattparker{{Efn|314159 are the first six digits of Pi.}} was named in his honour. The citation highlights Parker's biennial "Pi Day challenges", stating that they have helped to popularise mathematics.{{cite journal |url=https://www.wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/V004/WGSBNBull_V004_011.pdf#page=20 |author=International Astronomical Union |title=New Names of Minor Planets |journal=WGSBN Bulletin |volume=4 |number=11 |date=15 August 2024 |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=Matthew Thomas Parker (b. 1980) is an Australian recreational mathematician, author, and science communicator based in the United Kingdom. His “Stand-up Maths” YouTube channel has gained more than one million subscribers. Parker's Pi Day (March 14) challenges, where he calculates (by hand) π with the help of volunteers, have popularized mathematics.}}{{cite AV media|first=Matt|last=Parker|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyNbLtiAgj4|date=25 October 2024|title=What do we know about Asteroid 314159 aka ‘Mattparker’?|via=YouTube}} (including an interview with the discoverer)

Recreational mathematics contributions

Parker introduced the recreational mathematics concept of a grafting number, an integer with the property that the square root of the integer, when expressed in base b, will contain the original integer itself before or directly after the decimal point {{OEIS|id=A232087}}.{{Cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=yes|id=wK2MAwAAQBAJ}}|title=Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension: A Mathematician's Journey Through Narcissistic Numbers, Optimal Dating Algorithms, at Least Two Kinds of Infinity, and More|last=Parker|first=Matt|date=2 December 2014|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-0-374-71037-8|pages=62, 63|language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Tanniru |first=Robert |date=November 2015 |title=A short note introducing Grafting Numbers and their connection to Catalan Numbers |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301633218 |journal=Journal of Combinatorial Mathematics and Combinatorial Computing |publisher=Charles Babbage Research Centre |volume=95 |pages=309–312 |issn=0835-3026 |via=ResearchGate}}

Each odd-numbered year on 14 March, Parker organizes what has been described as "Pi day challenges", where he attempts to calculate the number pi by hand.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/mar/14/pi-day |title=Pi Day: Help yourself to a slice of infinite, transcendental pi |first=Matt |last=Parker |date=14 March 2011 |access-date=1 July 2024 |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019161621/https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/mar/14/pi-day |archive-date=19 October 2023 |url-status=live}}{{Citation|url=https://tomrocksmaths.com/2024/04/04/carnival-of-mathematics-226/|title=Carnival of Mathematics 226|first=Tom|last=Crawford|publisher=The Aperiodical|date=4 April 2024|access-date=30 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830074418/https://tomrocksmaths.com/2024/04/04/carnival-of-mathematics-226/|archive-date=30 August 2024|url-status=live}} In 2024, Parker and a team of hundreds of volunteers at City of London School spent six days calculating 139 correct digits of pi by hand, in what he claimed was "the biggest hand calculation in a century".{{cite AV media |people=Matt Parker |date=13 March 2024 |title=The biggest hand calculation in a century! [Pi Day 2024] |type=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIg-6glbLkU |access-date=1 July 2024 |via=YouTube |location=London}}

Parker is the namesake of the Parker square, an internet meme consisting of a trivial semimagic square. Parker was attempting to create a magic square made up of all square numbers, however fell quite short of the goal. The semimagic square Parker created uses some numbers more than once, and the diagonal {{math|23{{sup|2}} + 37{{sup|2}} + 47{{sup|2}}}} sums to {{val|4107}}, not {{val|3051}} as for all the other rows, columns, or diagonal. The Parker Square became a "mascot for people who give it a go, but ultimately fall short". It is also a metaphor for something that is almost right, but is a little off.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOT_bG-vWyg | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/aOT_bG-vWyg| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=The Parker Square |date=18 April 2016 |last=Parker |first=Matt |series=Numberphile |access-date=16 June 2019}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|last1=Haran|first1=Brady|title=The Parker Square|url=http://www.bradyharanblog.com/the-parker-square/|website=Brady Haran Blog|access-date=16 June 2019|quote=The Parker Square is a mascot for people who give it a go but ultimately fall short.}}

Personal life

Parker married the English solar physicist Lucie Green in July 2014. The couple used wedding rings made of meteoric iron. He now lives in Godalming, England.{{cite book|last=Parker|first=Matt|url={{google books|id=AOu2AwAAQBAJ|pg=PT6|plainurl=yes}}|title=Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension|publisher=Penguin UK|date=2014|page= 6}} He has a labrador retriever called Skylab who has her own YouTube channel.{{Citation |title=How Roman numerals broke the official dog database. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMxoGqsmk5Y |language=en |access-date=18 May 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Skylab the Dog - YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/c/SkylabtheDog/videos |access-date=18 May 2022 |website=www.youtube.com}}

Bibliography

{{cite book |title=Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension: A Mathematician's Journey Through Narcissistic Numbers, Optimal Dating Algorithms, at Least Two Kinds of Infinity, and More |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |first=Matt |last=Parker |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-374-53563-6}}
{{cite book |title=Humble Pi: A comedy of maths errors |publisher=Allen Lane |first=Matt |last=Parker |year=2019 |isbn=9780241360231}}
{{cite book |title=Love Triangle: The Life-changing Magic of Trigonometry |title-link=Love Triangle (book) |publisher=Penguin Books |first=Matt |last=Parker |year=2024 |isbn=9780241505694}}