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Kevin Hartnett

Kevin Hartnett

Contributing Writer

A deltoid and other mathematical shapes.
geometry

A Question About a Rotating Line Helps Reveal What Makes Real Numbers Special

By Kevin Hartnett
July 26, 2022
Read Later

The Kakeya conjecture predicts how much room you need to point a line in every direction. In one number system after another — with one important exception — mathematicians have been proving it true.

Seifert surfaces formed from closed loops.
topology

Special Surfaces Remain Distinct in Four Dimensions

By Kevin Hartnett
June 16, 2022
Read Later

For decades mathematicians have searched for a specific pair of surfaces that can’t be transformed into each other in four-dimensional space. Now they’ve found them.

number theory

Mathematicians Clear Hurdle in Quest to Decode Primes

By Kevin Hartnett
January 13, 2022
Read Later

Paul Nelson has solved the subconvexity problem, bringing mathematicians one step closer to understanding the Riemann hypothesis and the distribution of prime numbers.

topology

How Tadayuki Watanabe Disproved a Major Conjecture About Spheres

By Kevin Hartnett
October 26, 2021
Read Later

Watanabe invented a new way of distinguishing shapes on his way to solving the last open case of the Smale conjecture, a central question in topology about symmetries of the sphere.

Illustration showing yellow and green shapes over a blue background
topology

In Topology, When Are Two Shapes the Same?

By Kevin Hartnett
September 28, 2021
Read Later

As topologists seek to classify shapes, the effort hinges on how to define a manifold and what it means for two of them to be equivalent.

topology

New Math Book Rescues Landmark Topology Proof

By Kevin Hartnett
September 9, 2021
Read Later

Michael Freedman’s momentous 1981 proof of the four-dimensional Poincaré conjecture was on the verge of being lost. The editors of a new book are trying to save it.

Illustration of colorful flowchart using raised blocks against a black background
proofs

Proof Assistant Makes Jump to Big-League Math

By Kevin Hartnett
July 28, 2021
Read Later

Mathematicians using the computer program Lean have verified the accuracy of a difficult theorem at the cutting edge of research mathematics.

Illustration showing geometric figures at left connected via wormhole to numbers at right.
Langlands program

New Shape Opens ‘Wormhole’ Between Numbers and Geometry

By Kevin Hartnett
July 19, 2021
Read Later

Laurent Fargues and Peter Scholze have found a new, more powerful way of connecting number theory and geometry as part of the sweeping Langlands program.

Math Meets QFT

A Video Tour of the Standard Model

By Kevin Hartnett
July 16, 2021
Read Later

The Standard Model is a sweeping equation that has correctly predicted the results of virtually every experiment ever conducted, as Quanta explores in a new video.


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About the author

Kevin Hartnett was the senior writer at Quanta Magazine covering mathematics and computer science. His work has been collected in multiple volumes of the “Best Writing on Mathematics” series. From 2013-2016 he wrote “Brainiac,” a weekly column for the Boston Globe‘s Ideas section.

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