The squared square upon which the Trinity Mathematical Society logo is based.
The Trinity Mathematical Society, abbreviated TMS, was founded in
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
in 1919 by
G. H. Hardy
Godfrey Harold Hardy (7 February 1877 – 1 December 1947) was an English mathematician, known for his achievements in number theory and mathematical analysis. In biology, he is known for the Hardy–Weinberg principle, a basic principle of pop ...
to "promote the discussion of subjects of mathematical interest". It is the oldest mathematical
university society
A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university or a college institution, whose membership typically consists ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and is believed to be the oldest existing subject society at any British university.
Today, the society is one of the largest societies in Trinity College, with nearly 600 members, and each year holds an extensive range of talks, together with social events including an annual cricket match against the Adams Society of
St John's College, Cambridge.
The society has hosted a range of distinguished speakers, including:
M.Atiyah,
A.Baker;
B.Birch;
C.Birkar;
B.Bollobás;
M.Born;
J.H.Conway;
H.S.M.Coxeter;
H.Davenport;
P.Dirac;
F.W.Dyson;
O.R.Frisch;
W.T.Gowers;
G.H.Hardy;
W.V.D.Hodge;
P.Kaptiza;
E.Landau;
J.E.Littlewood;
L.J.Mordell;
R.Penrose;
G.Polya;
R.Rado;
F.Ramsey;
B.Russell;
E.Rutherford;
L.Susskind;
P.Swinnerton-Dyer;
J.J.Thompson;
W.Thurston;
F.Wilczek;
L.Wittgenstein.
The logo of the society is the minimal perfect
squared square.
Significance of the apple
For
historical reasons, the apple is very important symbolically to the society. An apple is dropped at the end of meetings to signify that the meeting is now social; the President bowls an apple as the first 'ball' at the annual cricket match; and, as outlined in the society's Standing Orders, an apple is part of the design of the Society tie.
See also
*
Apple (symbolism)
Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that as late as the 17th century, the word "apple" was used as a generic term for ...
*
Ulam spiral
The Ulam spiral or prime spiral is a graphical depiction of the set of prime numbers, devised by mathematician Stanisław Ulam in 1963 and popularized in Martin Gardner's ''Mathematical Games'' column in ''Scientific American'' a short time late ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1919 establishments in England
Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge
Learned societies of the United Kingdom
Mathematical societies
Mathematics education in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1919
Mathematical Society
