Dr Salvador Vidal, vice-dean of the Faculty of Education, recently published a new book entitled “La matemática nos facilita la vida y nos puede hacer pasar ratos entretenidos” [Mathematics makes life easier and can keep us entertained]. This project received a subsidy from the Ministry for Culture and Sport.

The book consists of ten chapters featuring games based on mathematics, as well as short stories about great mathematicians who have contributed to improving science and making progress that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. “There are many fun games based on calculation, without which they could not exist,” explains Vidal, “even magicians use mathematical resources to perform their amazing tricks.”

This is a subject that Dr Vidal already addressed in his doctoral thesis entitled Día del Número, motivación de la matemática[Pi Day, Mathematical Motivation] where he carried out a study on didactic experiences in terms of improving attitudes to and excitement about mathematics, while presenting a series of recreational activities with different group dynamics to improve student motivation in this discipline.