Popular science communicators contribute to IdeaMill

Brighton UK, 29 December 2020 – Professors from the University of Nottingham provided specialist insights on a range of ideas posted on IdeaMill. Users of the website have not only been testing the experts’ wits, but also inspiring them with unorthodox ideas in the fields of observational astronomy, particle physics and pure mathematics.

Discussing the counter-intuitive idea that we can’t see matter, Professor of Astronomy Michael Merrifield agreed that an often overlooked distinction is that we only see light emitted or reflected by an object, rather than see the object itself. Professor of Physics Philip Moriati argued against the speculative idea that the frequency of musical notes could increase to infinity. Although he thought the idea of there being no highest pitch was intriguing, he went on to explain there is an ultimate limitation due to the speed molecules/atoms transfer their energy.

But not all of the ideas posted by IdeaMill’s users were as easy for the academics to agree with or dismiss. Professor Tony Padilla was fascinated by the fact that 12345679 multiplied by 8 equals 98765432. The mysterious number (12345679) was brought to his attention in an idea that claimed mathematicians often identify patterns that aren’t really there. “I’ve been looking at your number trick and trying to make sense of it.” Tony commented, “I want to find new ways to exploit the underlying maths.”

Inspiring new ways of thinking and doing things are just some of the many unexpected outcomes of the new online platform. “We’ve been amazed at the level of insight displayed in many of the ideas people are putting forward. New arguments are now being had due to the generous feedback provided by the experts that have come on board.” Explained IdeaMill co-founder Martin Wilson.

Popular YouTuber and mathematics educator Dr James Grime also joined in to encourage mavericks and non-experts to challenge conventional wisdom by sharing their ideas on the website. As he put it: “a true pattern is always true. So if someone wants to prove you wrong, they can’t.”

About IdeaMill
IdeaMill Is a live feed of the world’s ideas. Anyone can post ideas they like and add links on ideas posted by others. Links often point to pages on the web where the idea has already been tried and tested. So when the same link is added on more than one idea, IdeaMill can connect existing solutions to more of the problems they can solve.

Like Quora, Reddit and Wikipedia, IdeaMill is an online information network that seeks to aggregate the collective knowledge of humanity. IdeaMill’s mission is to bring people together through their ideas and provide insights to help us better understand the world and the people in it.

Since the unique platform was launched earlier this year, IdeaMill’s growing userbase has added over 1000 new (and old) ideas and more than 2500 useful links to online resources. IdeaMill has been called, by some, ‘the search engine of things that don’t exist… yet.’

Media Contact
Martin Wilson +44 (0) 7907 037400
martin@ideamill.info