Much Ado about numbers

Upon hearing of the concept of Much Ado about Numbers I was highly intrigued. Shakespeare and numbers? Two of my favourite things yet ones seemingly separate. How wrong me and many others were. On 5th December Rob Eastway came to GGS and within an hour had proved Shakespeare and maths connectedness. Within the hour Rob had covered many facets of what Elizabethan audiences considered “maths” from shapes, trigonometry and (most surprisingly) music. While all very fascinating and well constructed, there are a few key moments that spring to mind. The talk was highly interactive throughout with 12 quiz questions to challenge our understanding of Shakespeare and maths. On one occasion it was even more interactive as a member of the audience had to come up and do Shakespearean multiplication To explain, you take your two numbers you would like to multiply and put one above the other. Draw a x, the corners pointing to the number. Opposite each number put the number it takes to add to 10 e.g 7 and 3. Times the right hand column and pout below it. Finally, minus one of the diagonals and put it on the left and boom! While very entertaining, no one (including teachers) has figured out how it works.

Overall, Much Ado about Numbers was one of the better experiences this year. Not only did it challenge views of Shakespeare and maths as two separate things, it was highly educational and interesting.

Ralph Watkins 11P