Rob Eastaway

Rob Eastaway

Rob Eastaway is a renowned mathematics communicator and author of English literature with over three decades of experience working with diverse audiences.

He has worked with schoolchildren and senior executives through various mediums, including radio broadcasts, lectures, articles, books, and workshops. He also makes frequent appearances on More or Less with Tim Harford, a podcast on BBC Radio 4 where he makes mathematics easily accessible to ordinary people.

In 2017, the Institute of Mathematics and the London Mathematical Society honoured him with the Zeeman Medal for his work in promoting the understanding of mathematics. Previous awardees of the prestigious awards include Simon Singh, Matt Parker, and Hannah Fry.

Rob Eastaway has been working for the national program Maths Inspiration since 2004. The national program was established to present lecture shows in a theatre format, aiming to inspire young adults to gain a deeper understanding of mathematics.

The organization’s shows have been performed in the United Kingdom to more than 250,000 teens, in addition to tours in New York and Sydney.

In addition to authoring and co-authoring several best-selling works on mathematics, he is the editor of a New Scientist weekly maths puzzle column. He is also a highly sought-after speaker at workshops and conferences, having led workshops for secondary and primary school teachers.

Rob Eastaway’s work focuses on the real-world application of mathematics, creative problem-solving, and demystifying complex ideas through the use of plain language.

Outside of education, Rob Eastaway worked with Gordon Vince and Ted Dexter to develop the original world player rankings for cricket. Through PwC and Deloitte, the system would become widely known and used in the sport.

In 1999, Rob Eastaway published the work Why Do Buses Come in Threes?, in which he demonstrates how mathematics is present in everyday life.

The work explains why events such as showers being too cold or hot, or buses arriving at the same time, happen due to queuing theory or probability. Using gambling, lottery odds, dating, traffic jams, and magic tricks, he reveals hidden rules behind everyday happenings.

With examples and humour, he makes mathematics accessible and enjoyable, demonstrating that even the smallest moments can be explained through mathematics.

In Rob Eastaway’s work Maths on the Back of an Envelope, he shows how we can solve everyday number puzzles without a calculator.

He explains how to use the back of an envelope to make estimates using common sense and rough maths quickly. He showcases techniques such as z-equals and Fermi problems, which we can use to find answers to questions like lottery odds and the number of cats in the world.

With real-life examples, stories, and quizzes, he teaches us how to make sense of numbers and make mathematics fun through estimation.

Rob Eastaway has also collected 100 puzzles in the book 100 Maddening Mindbending Puzzles, which he published in 2020.

The puzzles include various activities, such as logic problems, chocolate chopping, word games, crossing moats, and matchstick riddles, to condition the brain to think in new ways about numbers.

He combines complex mathematical concepts with simple lateral thinking to promote creative thinking, codebreaking, and logical reasoning.

Related Authors

Fans of Rob Eastaway also enjoy these authors:

1. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
2. C.J. Box, author of the Joe Pickett Series.
3. Agatha Christie, author of: And Then There Were None / Ten Little Indians.
4. Val McDermid, author of the Inspector Karen Pirie Series.
5. H.G. Wells, author of: The Time Machine.

Rob Eastaway: F.A.Q