Keynote address

Joan O’Hagan

“Doing mathematics – maelstrom or thermal?”

Maelstroms are whirlpools that can suck you down. Thermals are bubbles of hot air that can carry you to great heights. Both are exciting; and doing mathematics can be like being in either.  Even thinking about doing mathematics often brings into play a rich vortex of intuition, emotion, judgement and logic. We’re going to explore – in what I hope will be a stimulating and entertaining but not mathematically intimidating session - how these interact. You may be surprised by some of what happens; I hope you’ll share and gain some insights which will be directly useful to you as teachers...... and you may even find your inner mathematician.