MathsJam 2023 - Weekend of November 11th/12th

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The tale as recounted here is a reconstruction of the events that took place. It is almost certainly wrong in the detail, but the story, on the whole, is "true enough."
The Monthly MathsJams run all over the world, mostly on the second last Tuesday of the month. You can read about them here:

But how did they start?

The story goes that Matt Parker (http://www.standupmaths.com/) was having a pint with some friends in a pub in London one evening (Tuesday April 29th, 2008) when someone mentioned a maths problem they were working on. Napkins to the fore, brows furrowed, and much scribbling took place, with someone even pulling out a laptop.

History doesn't relate whether that original problem was solved, but the the story goes that conversation then ranged widely and wildly across other maths problems and puzzles, and the time just flew.

At the end of the evening one participant said "This has been fun, we should do it again," and another participant who might perhaps be described as more "detail oriented" pulled out their diary and said - "OK ... when?"

So over the next few months they and others got together, had a refreshing beverage, and did maths. Recreational maths such as puzzles and games, as well as "proper" maths, and just generally allowed themselves to enjoy a subject that usually has to remain hidden, shunned by the wider population.

They settled on the penultimate Tuesday of the month, as that's (a) likely to drift in and out of phase with any other regular commitments, and (b) weird.

The MathsJam Gathering started in 2010 and took the name because it is a combination of the Monthly MathsJam concept and the Gathering for Gardner - you can read more about How it Started.

We need to check this - Katie?
Matt's memory is then that while at the MathsJam Gathering in 2010, Katie Steckles complained that the Monthly MathsJam looked like fun, but was too far away from where she was based in Manchester. Matt's reply was characteristically unsympathetic: "Easily fixed - you do the same thing there in Manchester, and we'll tweet puzzles and challenges at each other."

And from there it took off. Monthly MathsJams now happen at 70 to 80 places all over the world, and is going strong. You can read more about them here:

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