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Kevin Hartnett

Kevin Hartnett

Contributing Writer

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Latest Articles

Paul Erdős
Abstractions blog

Cash for Math: The Erdős Prizes Live On

By Kevin Hartnett
June 5, 2017
Comment
Read Later

Paul Erdős placed small bounties on hundreds of unsolved math problems. Over the past 20 years, only a handful have been claimed.

Combinatorics and constellations
combinatorics

A Puzzle of Clever Connections Nears a Happy End

By Kevin Hartnett
May 30, 2017
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The three young friends who devised the “happy ending” problem would become some of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century, but were never able to solve their own puzzle. Now it receives its first big breakthrough.

Abstractions blog

A Simple Visual Proof of a Powerful Idea

By Kevin Hartnett
April 13, 2017
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Ramsey’s theorem predicts a surprising (and useful) consistency in the organization of graphs. Here’s a simple visual proof of how it works.

Abstractions blog

How to Use a Sphere to Talk to Mars

By Kevin Hartnett
April 12, 2017
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To avoid garbled messages, mathematicians might translate them into geometric form.

Icosahedron
geometry

A New Path to Equal-Angle Lines

By Kevin Hartnett
April 11, 2017
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Equiangular lines are an elemental part of geometry. Mathematicians have discovered a tighter limit on the number of such lines that exist in every dimension.

Abstractions blog

The Almost-Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem

By Kevin Hartnett
March 3, 2017
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19th-century mathematicians thought the “roots of unity” were the key to solving Fermat’s Last Theorem. Then they discovered a fatal flaw.

Colorful illustration of 5 plants with their roots exposed. Each plant forms the shape of a number,
number theory

New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes

By Kevin Hartnett
March 2, 2017
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For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering.

Mobius strip illustration
Abstractions blog

The Hidden Twist to Making a Möbius Strip

By Kevin Hartnett
February 9, 2017
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The simple Möbius strip illustrates a deep mathematical challenge that has long tormented the field of symplectic geometry.

geometry

A Fight to Fix Geometry’s Foundations

By Kevin Hartnett
February 9, 2017
Comment
Read Later

When two mathematicians raised pointed questions about a classic proof that no one really understood, they ignited a years-long debate about how much could be trusted in a new kind of geometry.


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