Page 12 - The Malvernian_Summer 2021

THE MALVERNIAN
Aston Society
On Monday 17th May 2021 Schuaichu Pan lead a a a a a a very intellectual Aston Society
talk on on ‘Calculus – the study of points close to infinity’ Calculus is a a a a a a branch of mathematics that involves changes in in values and and was first discovered in in the 1670’s and and 1680’s Schuaichu’s talk covered covered when and who discovered it the the the fundamental theory of calculus and uses in the the the modern day The two people credited with it it it are Isaac Newton from England and Gottfried Leibniz from Germany although there was a a a a a lot of controversy as to who did it first There are two different parts of of the ‘Fundamental Theory of of Calculus’ Differentiation is where you cut things into small pieces and and measure how they change from one point to another and and Integration is how one point changes changes in in a a a a series of changes changes Calculus is used in many aspects of life from actuarial science (insurance) to acoustics It includes many many jobs and there are many many opportunities to take it it it further whether at A Level IB or or university Wheeler Bennett Society
This was the the first meeting with the the new Lower Sixth cohort Our first talk was presented by Clemens Tuczka (No 7) on Bitcoin what is it it it and how does it it it work? After he had outlined the the creation of bitcoin and the the numerous advantages it it has over traditional currency he he described the ‘mining’ process required for transactions to to to to go through While a a a difficult topic to to to to convey to to to to a group of students with limited knowledge in computer science Clemens effectively managed to take us through the process of bitcoin mining and the the large strain it it places on the the electrical grid due to the the the high energy costs of the the the hardware required He then took us through the the process of actually obtaining bitcoin and the the idea of of the the artificial ‘cap’ on the the total number of of bitcoins available He finally moved on to describe the numerous problems with bitcoins currently ie the fact that it it is too volatile to to use as currency and the environmental problems it exacerbates This rounded off a a a a 25 minute presentation that most in in the audience found helpful in in in giving a a a brief overview of the the bitcoin market and the the current problems with such a a market The second speaker at the Wheeler-Bennet meeting was Emily Elgar (No 6) who gave a a a a a a fascinating presentation entitled “The thalidomide tragedy: the turning point for a a a a new era in in in drug testing” Emily spoke about the the history of thalidomide in in the the late 1950s & early ‘60s looking at at how the lack of regulations around
Isabelle Wilson
drug testing at the time allowed such a a a a dangerous medicine to become so widely consumed She explained the chemical composition of thalidomide and what made it it so dangerous for pregnant women to take and looked at how drug testing regulation has become much stricter globally as as a a a a a result of the thalidomide tragedy Both talks were followed by Q&A sessions with many varied and interesting questions being asked by the audience All in in in in all this was a a a a great meeting of the society with two excellent presentations CALCULUS: THE STUDY OF POINTS CLOSE TO INFINITY
Have you you heard of the word “calculus”?
Do you you know what what does calculus calculus mean and what what mathematical operations are involved in in it?
Have you ever wondered how was calculus invent- ed?
Do you know who is the real inventor of calculus Newton or Leibniz?
Do you know calculus is widely used in which are- as?
Come To Aston Society
and Find Out More! Meet at at 19 30 pm next Monday (17th May)! At Gaunt centre (room at at back of the Lower Li- brary)!
All Lower School pupils are welcome!
*Aston Society
is the Lower School pupil-lead academ- ic ic and and and super curriculum society aiming at extending pupils’ knowledge and and and and understanding beyond the nor- mal school school curriculum and and and and giving students a a a a a a a a a a chance to think and and ask questions around
their everyday school school lives 12
THE MALVERNIAN
Sophie Roberts and Tarush Agrawal