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Stephen Ornes

Contributing Writer

Mark Braverman, in an orange shirt, stands on a path lined with trees.
2022 Fields and Abacus Medals

The Scientist Who Developed a New Way to Understand Communication

By Stephen Ornes
July 5, 2022
Read Later

Mark Braverman has spent his career translating thorny problems into the language of information complexity.

An illustration showing an orange and blue network of lines focus into a clear pyramid, emerging as a white light traveling into a clear eye.
neural networks

Will Transformers Take Over Artificial Intelligence?

By Stephen Ornes
March 10, 2022
Read Later

A simple algorithm that revolutionizes how neural networks approach language is now taking on image classification as well. It may not stop there.

Closeup photo of an automated two-wheeled robot on a wooden table
mathematical physics

A New Theory for Systems That Defy Newton’s Third Law

By Stephen Ornes
November 11, 2021
Read Later

In nonreciprocal systems, where Newton’s third law falls apart, “exceptional points” are helping researchers understand phase transitions and possibly other phenomena.

graph theory

How Big Data Carried Graph Theory Into New Dimensions

By Stephen Ornes
August 19, 2021
Read Later

Researchers are turning to the mathematics of higher-order interactions to better model the complex connections within their data.

Illustration of mathematicians descending through a cavern whose walls are lined with polynomials.
polynomials

Mathematicians Resurrect Hilbert’s 13th Problem

By Stephen Ornes
January 14, 2021
Read Later

Long considered solved, David Hilbert’s question about seventh-degree polynomials is leading researchers to a new web of mathematical connections.

Illustration of a robot and a human furiously doing math next to each other
artificial intelligence

How Close Are Computers to Automating Mathematical Reasoning?

By Stephen Ornes
August 27, 2020
Read Later

AI tools are shaping next-generation theorem provers, and with them the relationship between math and machine.

Photo of various kinds and colors of dice
Abstractions blog

How and Why Computers Roll Loaded Dice

By Stephen Ornes
July 8, 2020
Read Later

Researchers are one step closer to injecting probability into deterministic machines.

Illustration of a robot translating calculus into branching, tree-like structures
artificial intelligence

Symbolic Mathematics Finally Yields to Neural Networks

By Stephen Ornes
May 20, 2020
Read Later

After translating some of math’s complicated equations, researchers have created an AI system that they hope will answer even bigger questions.

Animation showing virtual players hiding and seeking in a digital arena
artificial intelligence

Playing Hide-and-Seek, Machines Invent New Tools

By Stephen Ornes
November 18, 2019
Read Later

After millions of games, machine learning algorithms found creative solutions and unexpected new strategies that could transfer to the real world.

About the author

Stephen Ornes is a science writer in Nashville, Tennessee. His book Math Art: Truth, Beauty, and Equations features the work of 19 artists who found inspiration in the heady ideas of math. He's also the host and creator of Calculated, a podcast collection of stories at the intersection of math and culture. Visit him online at stephenornes.com.

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