At a time when the public conscience is being focussed on the disabled, it may be opportune to report on the experience gained at Middlesex Polytechnic between 1979 and 1982 in taking the student Paul Holliman, who has been blind from birth, through its B.Sc. degree in Mathematics for Business. This paper begins with some indications of the system of Brailling mathematics, in the form in which Holliman had learnt it and used in the course. Then the course itself is described, with especial reference to the problems faced in teaching and learning. Attention then switches to the available technology; its scope and limits, and the prospects for future development. A brief final section notes some of the conceptual difficulties which blindness causes.

Three numbers are selected at random from the range [0,1]. What is the probability that they form the lengths of the sides of a triangle?

In the general case suppose that the radial forces are of magnitude P and that the angle between adjacent forces is 2α (so that α = 20° in the above figure). Consider the portion YY′ of the ring, as in the left-hand figure below. From a consideration of the rotational symmetry of the ring, it is evident that the tensions at Yand Y′are equal, these being marked T in the figure. Similarly, if the shear force at Y is Stowards the centre O, then that at Y′ is S away from the centre. Moreover, the bending moments at Y and Y′ are equal and opposite. These are marked M in the left-hand figure.

There is some interesting mathematics associated with the integration of the function

for positive integers n. For n = 1 we have

to within an arbitrary constant. Expanding the integrand with the binomial theorem and integrating term by term gives the well-known result

Although the approximation of elementary functions is a well-researched area of mathematics, very little has been published on built-in routines in any particular calculator or computer. Computer manufacturers are, understandably perhaps, reluctant to publicise details about their algorithms. Hewlett-Packard have been less secretive than most and allowed an occasional glimpse behind the scene in their own Journal and various other sources. The following square root routine for one of their machines, the now extinct 2000F series, has appeared in an Open University text on numerical computation [1]. The process of evaluating √x is carried out in four steps:

This article is about a powerful method of carrying out tests of statistical significance. Its rationale depends on simple ideas of probability and is suitable for pupils at school. Practical applications require a considerable amount of computation but now that schools are equipped with computers this should not be a problem.