Dr Tom Crawford

COUNTDOWN. Still can’t believe this happened, but you will now be able to watch me attempting to do maths live on television for the next 3 weeks, starting Monday at 2:10pm @Channel4. So excited to be joining the @C4Countdown family - long live daytime television!!

A real diverse range of topics in group 9 of the 2025 TRM Essay Competition Showcase. We start with the probabilities of poker hands, before moving on to computers made from matchboxes, Magnus Carlsen vs The World, and the cost of congestion in the UK... tomrocksmaths.com/2025/07/27/trm…

I climbed Mount Huashan from the ground to the 5(!) peaks and back down. Going to go lie down for a week… Apparently I walked 22 miles in 47,597 steps, which averages at 2163 per mile putting me in the middle of the average of 2000-2500 per mile.

I’ve been fortunate to visit some incredible places but this is unreal. 8000 soldiers and 670 horses made from terracotta and painted by hand. The Terracotta Army depicts the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the 1st emperor of China and has the purpose of protecting him in the afterlife.

Ran the full length of the city walls in Xi’an (for some reason) complete with many excellent gatehouses and temples. You can see the deterioration in my selfies and pace for the last section so we will not be working out my pace. Probably something to do with the 35 degree heat!

NEW VIDEO: Hear the incredible story of Ngô Bảo Châu. The 1st Fields Medalist from Vietnam who almost turned it down due to the effect he knew it would have on his life. Hands down one of the best interviews I've ever done. Premieres today at 4pm (GMT+1).youtube.com/watch?v=s_Z2B9…

A completely expected - and let's be honest, deserved - victory for "Arseropes" and @susie_dent in Round 6 of Numbers vs. Words. I, and the "weird numbers" salute you. If you've missed any of rounds 1-6 you can find them all here: youtube.com/watch?v=0Yxg2b… Round 7 coming soon!

Old meets new at Bahrain Fort. Archaeological excavations have unearthed 7 stratified layers dating from 2300 BC to 18th Century Persians. The layers cover a depth of 12m, so assuming a linear relationship between depth and time, how deep were the Persian relics buried?

Group 8 in the 2025 TRM Essay Showcase brings the usual eclectic mix of mathematics and madness. From estimating the volume of the Eiffel Tower on a napkin, to predicting the UK weather using Markov Chains, there's plenty for you to enjoy! tomrocksmaths.com/2025/07/20/trm…

Al Fateh Grand Mosque in Bahrain. The largest mosque in the country capable of holding 11,000, or approximately 1% of the total Muslim population of Bahrain. If the population of Bahrain is ~1.5 million, what proportion is Muslim?

Another fun-filled afternoon talking all things maths with the students at St Clare’s Oxford. Well done to the budding mathematicians that figured out the countdown puzzle - and thank you for your suggestions of new maths exams for me try out! Argentina and Greece next up…

When you find yourself on the wall of fame at your Oxford College… Throwback to 2018 and the all-conquering @StJohnsOx men’s football team. League champions and winners of Team of the Year at the Sports Dinner. I reckon I could still do a job in a deep-lying midfield role…

This was the first-ever @CS50 Hackathon at @Meta in London 🇬🇧, with workshops on AI, Llama, Wearables, and Number Games by CS50’s own @davidjmalan and Rongxin Liu, Oxford’s own @tomrocksmaths, et al. 💻

We Need You! Looking for volunteers to make contributions to our TeachMeet as part of our conference on September 13 2025 with @tomrocksmaths as keynote speaker. Perfect opportunity to plan and network for the year ahead. Register here: imta.ie/product/imta-m…

Another excellent selection of essays for you to enjoy with group 7 of the Tom Rocks Maths Essay Competition 2025 Showcase. Featuring movement in Minecraft, pixel me versus pixel wizard, and triangles with angles that add up to 270 degrees. Happy reading! tomrocksmaths.com/2025/07/15/trm…

Loving the energy from the Bluebridge students during my talk on Mathematical Modelling in Sport. We looked at the geometry behind penalty kicks, predicting marathon world records, and of course a few rounds of Countdown! Thanks for being such a fun audience :)

Loving these photos by Mr Velk from the Ratio event last weekend in Sofia. I explained the Maths behind my mathematical-themed tattoos to a packed audience in the garden area of a local bar, which makes it probably the coolest talk I’ve ever done :)

The comeback begins... a very close call in Round 5 but 3999 (the largest number that can be written in standard Roman Numerals) just shaves it to bring Numbers back within 1 of Words. @tomrocksmaths 2 - 3 @susie_dent Look out for Round 6 coming early next week!

Just look at all these amazing maths teachers educating the mathematicians of tomorrow - the excitement levels are off the scale!! Great fun to meet everyone at the Connecting the Dots conference. I can’t wait to see how you build storytelling into your next maths lesson :)