Dr Tom Crawford first became interested in the mathematics of fantasy when he calculated that, to keep a Charizard as a pet, he would need to feed it 23,071 calories per day; equivalent to 61 tins of Pedigree’s wet dog food. So began a decade-long journey into whether the mathematics of other fictional worlds made any more sense. (It turns out they don’t.)
Tom is both a fellow at Robinson College, University of Cambridge, from where he holds a PhD in fluid mechanics, and Public Engagement Lead at University of Oxford Lifelong Learning. His work has been featured on the BBC, Channel 4’s Countdown and in the New Scientist, and he is the creator of the popular YouTube channel ‘Tom Rocks Maths’, where he answers important questions like: how many ping-pong balls would it take to raise the Titanic? And can I bake a pi-shaped pie using ingredients only in multiples of pi?
Tom also has a lot of tattoos: fifteen are maths themed but, to his embarrassment, he does not yet have a Pikachu. If this book sells really well he promises to rectify this immediately.
