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The Secret Math Behind Mind-Reading Magic Tricks
Four puzzle solutions reveal different ways to divine someone’s hidden number with impossibly little information.
Think of a Number. How Do Math Magicians Know What It Is?
Mathematical magic can seem like mind reading. Your job is to reveal the secret behind these four tricks.
The Secrets of Zugzwang in Chess, Math and Pizzas
Learn the magic and math of how to win games when your opponent goes first.
Play First and Lose: Zugzwang in Chess, Math and Pizzas
How to win games by going second and leaving your opponent with no good options.
Why e, the Transcendental Math Constant, Is Just the Best
The solution to our puzzle about Euler’s number explains why e pops up in situations that involve optimality.
Where Transcendental Numbers Hide in Everyday Math
The transcendental number π is as familiar as it is ubiquitous, but how does Euler’s number e transcend the ordinary?
Math Can, in Theory, Help You Escape a Hungry Bear
How readers used their geometry skills to survive a dangerous puzzle.
Can Math Help You Escape a Hungry Bear?
In this month’s puzzle, math is a question of life or death.
How a Simple Arithmetic Puzzle Can Guide Discovery
Playing with numbers can lead to deep mathematical and scientific insights.