Mathematics

Three high schoolers and their mentor revisited a century-old theorem to prove that all knots can be found in a fractal called the Menger sponge.

The mathematician David Bessis claims that everyone is capable of, and can benefit greatly from, mathematical thinking.

Two mathematicians have renewed a debate about the fundamental nature of some of math’s most important equations.

With lots of data, a strong model and statistical thinking, scientists can make predictions about all sorts of complex phenomena. Today, this practice is evolving to harness the power of machine learning and massive datasets. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with statistician Emmanuel Candès about black boxes, uncertainty and the power of inductive reasoning.

It was intuitive, even obvious. It was also wrong.

Born poor in colonial India and dead at 32, Ramanujan had fantastical, out-of-nowhere visions that continue to shape the field today.

A new proof about prime numbers illuminates the subtle relationship between addition and multiplication — and raises hopes for progress on the famous abc conjecture.

Across the social and biological sciences, statisticians use a technique that leverages randomness to deal with the unknown.

Mathematicians have long wondered how “shapes of constant width” behave in higher dimensions. A surprisingly simple construction has given them an answer.