Johnny Ball – Mathemagician

So, I took my six year old son to the Cheltenham Literature festival again last weekend, this time for an audience with Johnny Ball.

Who is Johnny Ball? Those of you of a certain age will remember him from the eighties as the ebullient presenter of BBC children’s program “Think of  Number” and others (full details at Johnny’s website if you need a reminder). To younger folks, he is probably as well known for looking slightly tearful on Strictly Come Dancing as his Radio Presenter daught Zoe Ball was voted off.

It’s a little sad that an entire generation have missed out on the infectious enthusiasm of JB’s maths and science based output. I’m a maths head and science enthusiast anyway so I guess it’s no surprise that as a child the impending arrival of Think Of A Number had me totally giddy. To see JB’s performance “in the flesh” was an absolute privilege and took me right back to lying on the lounge carpet, riveted to the show, blocking out all distractions. The hair is thinner and greyer of course (mine too), but the pliable, lively, friendly face and glinting eyes are unmistakable, familiar and reassuring.

Most impressive is, the energy of it all; his presenting style; brash, lilting, full on and animated and then suddenly slow, deliberate, contemplative and smooth as he reveals a beautiful , simple, mathematical truth is absolutely captivating and has not been dulled by the years one bit.

In all too brief a time he covered multiplying large numbers just by knowing your two times table, binary number base, geometrical methods of multiplication and division, the great pyramid, Eratosthenes, Pythagoras and finally, atomic theory. My Son loved it, as did I.

The show was marred by only one thing. Right at the end, with 10 minutes or so to go, Johnny who by this time has the audience in the palm of his hand launches into a lecture on the big business/government conspiracies that say carbon dioxide emissions are responsible for global warming. Now, he has a point, he really does. Many aspects of climate change are indeed over-hyped and in many scientific journals you will find some tempering views on aspects of climate change. Unfortunately though, good argument or not, this was not the platform to do it. My Son, who was keen to ask a question or three after a few minutes of climate change bashing had totally lost interest. He was tired, cuddly, fuzzy Johnny now seemed altogether just too grown up and unhappy all of a sudden and the boy was not impressed.

By the end when Johnny was finished, a lot of the audience left, as did my Son and I. When we came in my Son was keen to have his booked signed and I was keen to shake the hand of someone who was no less than a childhood hero. By the end we just had to get out.

It was a sad end to a brief evening but I don’t blame Johnny for taking his chance when on stage. Unfortunately, this stage, at this time with a audience consisting of a large number of under-10s was the wrong one for much of that audience.

He’s still a hero. You should still buy his books for your children. The BBC should release all his TV output on DVD. Or, better still, on iPlayer! come on BBC!, no distribution costs, little production costs a mention on the website home page and at his book publishers and you will soon see if there is a market for the DVDs.

Johnny is, quite simply the maths and science teacher every parent would wish for their children. His TV shows are as relevant today as they were when first broadcast and enthusiasm for learning never gets old or out of date. There is always a generation who will benefit from exposure to teachers like Johnny Ball.

I didn’t mention his spot-on views on the bland and narrow national curriculum but suffice to say he’d get my vote for schools minister and judging my the applause on this subject, I’m not the only one who agrees with him.