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Live from ICM 2026: What Is Math For in the Age of AI?
In this special live recording from the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia, July 2026, the central question discussed was what do mathematicians really value about doing mathematics in the first place?
‘Stunning’ Percolation Proof Solves Decades-Old Puzzle About Phase Transitions
Mathematicians found that a broad class of networks will abruptly shift behavior past a critical point.
‘Huge Breakthrough’ in the Math of Imbalance
For the first time in 30 years, computer scientists have found a better way to allocate objects evenly between two groups.
Graduate Student Proves a Quantum Uncertainty Principle for Fractals
The math, which combines chaos, quantum theory, and infinitely complex fractal structures, has been called a “foundational result.”
Why Are Rivers So Mathematical?
A simple scaling law brings order to the chaos of flowing water, rock, and sediment. New findings have extended the law even further.
Why the Legendary Erdős Problems Are Falling to AI
AI’s greatest mathematical successes have come from answers to problems posed by a mid-20th century iconoclast. By examining what makes the Erdős problems unique, mathematicians are trying to understand how AI might change the rest of math.
Fields and Abacus Medals 2026
Every four years, the math world’s preeminent awards are given to the finest minds of a generation. The young winners — all under 40 on the first day of the year — have reshaped mathematics and theoretical computer science. Here are their stories.
Living Fully in the Math World Means Threading the Needle
Focus, commitment, and insight resulted in a “once in a century” proof. Hong Wang is now just the third woman to win a Fields Medal.
Sometimes Being First Means Seeing the End Before Anyone Else
Determination and effort propelled Jacob Tsimerman to the top of the math world. But now that he’s won a Fields Medal, he worries that the field is in jeopardy.