Erica Klarreich

Contributing Correspondent

Latest Articles

Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks

February 15, 2018

A new study challenges one of the most celebrated and controversial ideas in network science.

Q&A

A Mathematician Who Dances to the Joys and Sorrows of Discovery

November 20, 2017

Federico Ardila opens up about his journey as a mathematician, teacher, Colombian transplant, DJ and creator of mathematical spaces.

Moonshine Link Discovered for Pariah Symmetries

September 22, 2017

A type of symmetry so unusual that it was called a “pariah” turns out to have deep connections to number theory.

In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium

July 18, 2017

John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is often impossible to reach efficiently.

How to Quantify (and Fight) Gerrymandering

April 4, 2017

Powerful new quantitative tools are now available to combat partisan bias in the drawing of voting districts.

Graph Isomorphism Vanquished — Again

January 14, 2017

Just five days after posting a retraction, László Babai announced that he had fixed the error in his landmark graph isomorphism algorithm.

Complexity Theory Problem Strikes Back

January 5, 2017

The legendary graph isomorphism problem may be harder than a 2015 result seemed to suggest.

All Is Not Fair in Cake-Cutting and Math

October 7, 2016

When divvying something up, there's more than one way to define what's fair.

How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too

October 6, 2016

Computer scientists have come up with a bounded algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any number of people.

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