mathematics

Murderous Maths

Murderous Maths is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Murderous Maths rather than just read about it. In short: Murderous Maths is a series of British educational books by author Kjartan Poskitt. Most of the books in the series are illustrated by illustrator Philip Reeve, with the exception of "The Secret Life of Codes", which is illustrated by Ian Baker, "Awesome Arithmetricks" illustrated by Daniel Postgate and Rob Davis, and "The Murderous Maths of Everything", also illustrated by Rob Davis.

Key takeaways

Murderous Maths belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Murderous Maths to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Murderous Maths from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Murderous Maths is a series of British educational books by author Kjartan Poskitt. Most of the books in the series are illustrated by illustrator Philip Reeve, with the exception of "The Secret Life of Codes", which is illustrated by Ian Baker, "Awesome Arithmetricks" illustrated by Daniel Postgate and Rob Davis, and "The Murderous Maths of Everything", also illustrated by Rob Davis. The Murderous Maths books have been published in over 25 countries. The books, which are aimed at children aged 8 and above, teach maths, spanning from basic arithmetic to relatively complex concepts such as the quadratic formula and trigonometry. The books are written in an informal similar style to the Horrible Histories, Horrible Science and Horrible Geography series, involving evil geniuses, gangsters, and a generally comedic tone.

Development The first two books of the series were originally part of "The Knowledge" (now "Totally") series, itself a spin-off of Horrible Histories. However, these books were eventually redesigned and they, as well as the rest of the titles in the series, now use the Murderous Maths banner. According to Poskitt, "these books have even found their way into schools and proved to be a boost to GCSE studies". The books are also available in foreign editions, including: German, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Greek, Dutch, Norwegian, Turkish, Croatian, Italian, Lithuanian, Korean, Danish, Hungarian, Finnish, Thai and Portuguese (Latin America). In 2009, the books were redesigned again, changing the cover art style and the titles of most of the books in the series. Poskitt's goal, according to the Murderous Maths website, is to write books that are "something funny to read", have "good amusing illustrations", include "tricks", and "explaining the maths involved as clearly as possible". He adds that although he doesn't "work to any government imposed curriculum or any stage achievement levels", he has "been delighted to receive many messages of support and thanks from parents and teachers in the UK, the United States and elsewhere".

Titles The following are the thirteen books that are available in the series.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Murderous Maths

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Murderous Maths claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Murderous Maths before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Murderous Maths ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Murderous Maths

In research: Murderous Maths appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Murderous Maths in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Murderous Maths is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Book series introduced in 1997, Horrible Histories, Mathematics books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Murderous Maths outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Murderous Maths in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Murderous Maths means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Murderous Maths out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Murderous Maths in simple terms?

Why does Murderous Maths matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Murderous Maths?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Murderous Maths.