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Kevin Hartnett

Kevin Hartnett

Contributing Writer

Black and white historical photo of eight men in front of a building, including Henri Cartan, André Weil and Szolem Mandelbrojt.
Abstractions blog

Inside the Secret Math Society Known Simply as Nicolas Bourbaki

By Kevin Hartnett
November 9, 2020
Read Later

For almost a century, the anonymous members of Nicolas Bourbaki have written books intended as pure expressions of mathematical thought.

Illustration showing a large multicolored graph on top and a smaller one below, which is rising and growing bigger
combinatorics

Disorder Persists in Larger Graphs, New Math Proof Finds

By Kevin Hartnett
November 4, 2020
Read Later

David Conlon and Asaf Ferber have raised the lower bound for multicolor “Ramsey numbers,” which quantify how big graphs can get before patterns inevitably emerge.

Illustration of researchers building and writing a digital library, which helps a humanoid robot do advanced math
foundations of mathematics

Building the Mathematical Library of the Future

By Kevin Hartnett
October 1, 2020
Read Later

A small community of mathematicians is using a software program called Lean to build a new digital repository. They hope it represents the future of their field.

Photo of students sitting at desks competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad
Abstractions blog

At the Math Olympiad, Computers Prepare to Go for the Gold

By Kevin Hartnett
September 21, 2020
Read Later

Computer scientists are trying to build an AI system that can win a gold medal at the world’s premier math competition.

Photo of Marijn Heule walking among computer processors
Abstractions blog

Computer Scientists Attempt to Corner the Collatz Conjecture

By Kevin Hartnett
August 26, 2020
Read Later

A powerful technique called SAT solving could work on the notorious Collatz conjecture. But it’s a long shot.

Illustration of floating metal cubes joining together, some of their faces yellow
geometry

Computer Search Settles 90-Year-Old Math Problem

By Kevin Hartnett
August 19, 2020
Read Later

By translating Keller’s conjecture into a computer-friendly search for a type of graph, researchers have finally resolved a problem about covering spaces with tiles.

Abstractions blog

How Physics Found a Geometric Structure for Math to Play With

By Kevin Hartnett
July 29, 2020
Read Later

Symplectic geometry is a relatively new field with implications for much of modern mathematics. Here’s what it’s all about.

Animated illustration showing vulnerable red shapes become “infected” and turn green, amid immune blue shapes.
Abstractions blog

The Tricky Math of Herd Immunity for COVID-19

By Kevin Hartnett
June 30, 2020
Read Later

Herd immunity differs from place to place, and many factors influence how it’s calculated.

Animation of different rectangles made by connecting four points on a colorful loop.
geometry

New Geometric Perspective Cracks Old Problem About Rectangles

By Kevin Hartnett
June 25, 2020
Read Later

While locked down due to COVID-19, Joshua Greene and Andrew Lobb figured out how to prove a version of the “rectangular peg problem.”


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