Ben Sparks
Ben Sparks is a mathematician, musician and author who brings maths to life through SparksMaths videos, Numberphile appearances and live talks.
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Latest
Ben’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- CassellWhy Don’t Rabbits Rule the World?2026 · Co-author with Dr Katie Steckles
- DK / Science MuseumMaths: 100 Ideas in 100 Words2024 · Co-author with Katie Steckles and Sam Hartburn
- The Golden Ratio (why it is so irrational)2018 · Presenter
Numberphile - Chessboard Spin Live Build GeoGebra2026 · Creator and presenter
SparksMaths
Overview
- Work
- Mathematician, musician, author and public speaker
- Before the videos
- Taught secondary maths in England for 10 years
- Studies
- Mathematical Sciences and Mathematical Modelling at Oxford
- Fan favourite
- The Golden Ratio (why it is so irrational), on Numberphile
- Alongside creating
- Teaches Communicating Maths at Bath and works on MEI’s Maths Into AI courses
Mini bio
From classroom to stage.
Ben taught secondary maths for 10 years before becoming a freelance maths communicator. He studied Mathematical Sciences at Merton College, Oxford, followed by an MSc in Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing at Somerville, and trained as a teacher at Oxford. His live work includes Maths Inspiration from 2011 and MathsFest from 2016.
The pictures behind the maths.
Numberphile brought his explanations to a wider audience. His Golden Ratio episode, exploring sunflower spirals, had passed 3.6 million views when he discussed it in a 2023 Aperiodical interview. On SparksMaths, he shows how he builds interactive visualisations, usually in GeoGebra, keeping the mistakes and problem solving visible so viewers can follow along.
Books and new questions.
He co-wrote Maths: 100 Ideas in 100 Words with Katie Steckles and Sam Hartburn, published in 2024. He and Steckles teamed up again for Why Don’t Rabbits Rule the World? in 2026, applying maths to everyday questions. Alongside his videos and talks, he teaches Communicating Maths at the University of Bath and develops and teaches MEI’s Maths Into AI courses.
Creditschronological, newest first
Books
- 2026Why Don’t Rabbits Rule the World?Co-author with Dr Katie Steckles
- 2024Maths: 100 Ideas in 100 WordsCo-author with Katie Steckles and Sam Hartburn
Video and live work
- 2026Brouwer’s Fixed Point TheoremNumberphile presenter with Chelsea Tucker
- 2026The Sound of Silence @ MathsWorld LatesFeatured speaker
- 2018The Golden Ratio (why it is so irrational)Numberphile presenter
Quotes
you’ll see a much more realistic portrayal of what it’s like to do maths and visualisation construction in real timeBen Sparks, The Aperiodical
In a December 2023 interview, Ben explained why he leaves the mistakes and frustrations in his SparksMaths live builds.
Trivia
- He sometimes busks with his guitar and also enjoys photography.
- His company is SparksMaths Ltd. His website points out that it is a separate business from the SparxMaths online tools.
- His live-build videos often show the finished visualisation first, then return to a blank slate to build it from scratch.
Find Ben
Follow Ben for maths, visualisations and a little music.
Are you Ben Sparks?
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