a selection of our favourite sites

"Plus" magazine

Superb online magazine of fun articles about mathematics. Also has puzzles, interviews with real live barking mathematicians, and reviews of maths books and software. Run from Cambridge university as part of the nrich project. Strongly recommended.

Eric Weisstein's "Mathworld"

An extraordinarily comprehensive dictionary of Mathematics. Richly illustrated and heavily cross-indexed. We can't remember how we used to get along before it existed! As with any good dictionary, you'll get sidetracked by all the fascinating references leading off from the page you were originally interested in and probably forget what you were looking for!

"Cut-the-knot"

This site is an absolute feast of short, beautifully written mathematical nuggets, richly laced with interactive java applets. You have to dig around for a while before it dawns on you just what a massive resource this is. Brainchild of maths champion Alex Bogomolny, whose "manifesto" should be on every classroom wall. In fact, it should be on every wall.

Simon Singh's site

Home page of the famous writer and broadcaster. Lots of interesting short articles to peruse, and you can buy signed copies of his books. We particularly liked his bestseller "The Code Book". It's explanation of the WW2 enigma machine and how it was defeated is much the clearest we've read. His discussion of public key cryptograaphy is similarly lucid. ...couldn't put it down.

How Stuff Works

This site is a cornucopia of short pithy articles explaining how things work, from toasters to submarines. Enriched with lots of colour diagrams, many of which are animated, and copious links on to related sites for further reading. An invaluable resource.

Jeff Miller's math words and symbols

A fascinating collection of mathematical symbols with accompanying historical notes about their first recorded appearances. There's a similar list of mathematical words too.

Waldo's maths site

Waldo is a hero. His site is packed with interactive animated graphs and diagrams illustrating mathematical principles and techinques. They're grouped according to UK school maths levels, but will be useful and interesting to a far wider audience.

Murderous Maths

We think cartoons and maths make a brilliant combination. We're biassed of course. But we're not the only ones. Murderous maths is a series of superb books aimed at a slightly younger audience than Captain Astounding, but they're a blasting good read for any age. Our tip; buy them for your kids and then nick them. Written by maths populariser par excellence Kjartan Poskitt.

Mathematical Ulterior Motives

This is a thought-provoking site about the way we learn, and teach, mathematics. You may have to swat a few pop-up ads, but it's well worth the effort. Some very important ideas lurk behind these lightly written and inspiring articles.

Professor Freedman's "Mathpower"

Professor Freedman's wise words on "math anxiety" and how to thwart it should be compulsory reading for teachers and students alike. Read and ponder...

EqWorld The World of Mathematical Equations

Brilliant site about equations. It contains a vast collection of solutions and methods for many different kinds of equations. It also has very extensive links to other Maths sites, Maths software and so on. A very valuable resource.

Suggest a link

Do you know of a site that deserves mention amongst the exalted company above? If so you are very welcome to submit a link by emailing .