There's Maths in That

One of the worst things about being a parent accompanying your child on University Open Days is the desire to be in a completely different department. I like studying.  There are many subjects I would like to know more about but I confess that Maths wouldn't be at the top of the list.  In most of the maths subject talks I have struggled to stay awake.

This week's maths talk at Reading University was a new low, for me.

"I'm sorry about this lecture theatre.  It is the only one like this I promise but it was near the maths department and if it was raining you'd appreciate it," the lecturer told us.

It wasn't raining.

"The seats are not very comfortable but at least you won't be falling asleep during my talk."

The seats were very uncomfortable; hard, slippery wood that made you slide forward and bang your knees on the  panel at the front.

"That sounds like  a challenge," I said aloud, embarrassing my son before resting my head on my arms, folded on the pull out desk top and snoring.

I woke with a lightly bruised rib to watch a series of slides showing what maths was in.

"See that blade of grass?  There's maths in that.  Want to know how many endangered Puffins there are?  There's maths in that.  People are mapping the floor of the ocean.  There's maths in that."

I'm being mean, of course.  She was a very good teacher.  We know because she listed the awards she  had received.

Reading is a funny University.

It's a beautiful campus and has everything it should: perky students, tired and badly dressed professors, trees, parkland and a lake.  The Long Suffering Husband pointed at the lake and said, "There's maths in that," I was hoping that there would be fish.

It also has wildlife.  One of the students, taking us on an accommodation tour, who was very excited to be living in a Hall with a cocktail bar was also quite keen on the wildlife.
"Look, a squirrel!" I said
"Yes, we have wildlife.  I've even seen a fox."
"Squirrels and a fox?"
"Yes, and cats!  We have a campus cat and I've seen it attacking a squirrel."

I suspect that Reading's thing might be 'diversity'.  They do seem proud of it and rightly so, if the student with the strong Chinese accent who kindly showed us his room is to be believed.

He pointed to the lake through his window, "I have great view."
"But you didn't choose that did you? You just choose the type of hall you want and you get given something."
He frowned. "I think I do. I fill in form of preferences.  I remember ticking box for the lake.  I could choose single ginger or mixed ginger."
I rubbed my ginger son's hair and said, "That's good to know."
Another bruised rib and a loudly whispered, "gender," put me straight.

It's a very safe campus.  I overheard a student telling two worried parents so.  "Yes, it's a very safe campus.  I've only lived here 14 days and nothing has happened to me."

As I'm not wanting to study maths it's really not my place to have much of an opinion about  whether each University we look at makes it to his list of five but it's hard not to be slightly concerned, as a parent when their advertising posters look like this: