It's just after Christmas and Santa is done making the rounds.
Maybe some killjoy has been pointing out to you just how hard it would be for the jolly fellow to visit a few hundred million kids in one night. Well, guess what? Math actually magnifies the old man's magic.
Hannah Fry has done the sums, and with Thomas Oléron Evans, has co-authored a new book called The Indisputable Existence Of Santa Claus: The Mathematics Of Christmas. Think of it as a way to make your Christmas a little bit more serene through math, whether you're determining how much garland you need for the tree, how to wrap presents with a minimum of wasted paper or how best to roast a holiday meal. It's a handy guide to jolly geometry and candy cane calculus.
Though some might object to doing figures around the holidays, Fry says it's actually the perfect time for mathematics.
"It's like a logical playground, right?" she says. "That's what mathematics is for me. And I think when you've got time away from work, away from the stresses of school and whatnot, it's just a really lovely time to use your mind as a playground."
Interview Highlights On the feasibility of Santa Claus' journey
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