In today’s society, mathematics underpins almost everything we do. It is vital to the ways in which we communicate with each other and the methods we use to navigate from place to place. It has completely altered how we buy and sell and it has revolutionised the manner in which we work and relax. Its influence can be felt in almost every courtroom and every hospital ward, in every office and every home. Maths might even explain why time seems to speed up as we get older.

Do you remember, when you were younger, that summer holidays seemed to last an eternity? For my children, who are four and six, the wait between consecutive Christmases seems like an inconceivable stretch of time. In contrast, as I get older, time appears to pass at an alarming rate, with days blending into weeks and then into months, all disappearing into the bottomless sinkhole of the past.

Read more at Science Focus.