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19 Women Leading Math and Physics
Top women in mathematics and physics discuss how they got to where they are — and why there aren’t more of them.
The Almost-Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem
19th-century mathematicians thought the “roots of unity” were the key to solving Fermat’s Last Theorem. Then they discovered a fatal flaw.
New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes
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.
In Mathematics, ‘You Cannot Be Lied To’
For Sylvia Serfaty, mathematics is all about truth and beauty and building scientific and human connections.
The Hidden Twist to Making a Möbius Strip
The simple Möbius strip illustrates a deep mathematical challenge that has long tormented the field of symplectic geometry.
A Fight to Fix Geometry’s Foundations
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.
To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics
The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them.
Graph Isomorphism Vanquished — Again
Just five days after posting a retraction, László Babai announced that he had fixed the error in his landmark graph isomorphism algorithm.
How Curvature Makes a Shape a Shape
The ancient study of an object’s curvature is guiding mathematicians toward a new understanding of simple equations.