You are looking for
Advanced search
Robbert Dijkgraaf on Exploring Quantum Reality
...call it quantum mathematics in physics. But I think it’s also very important movement just within pure math itself. [MUSIC PLAYING] Strogatz: When he speaks of quantum mathematics, he means...
The Man Who Stole Infinity
Long-Lost Letters Reveal the Lies That Gave Rise To Modern Math In an 1874 paper, Georg Cantor proved that there are different sizes of infinity and changed math forever. A...
Game Theory Calls Cooperation Into Question
...strategies were selfish ones that led to extortion, not cooperation. Plotkin found the duo’s math remarkable in its elegance. But the outcome troubled him. Nature includes numerous examples of cooperative...
A Design Dilemma Solved, Minus Designs
...the exception, mathematicians wondered, or the rule? “It was one of the most famous problems in combinatorics,” said Gil Kalai, a mathematician at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He recalls...
Solution: ‘The Slippery Eel of Probability’
...satisfy a given condition divided by the total number of all configurations. This abstract approach is what gives mathematics its power and generality. But it’s also responsible for math’s reputation...
A Tricky Path to Quantum-Safe Encryption
...this looming threat, cryptographers have been racing to develop “quantum-resistant” schemes efficient enough for widespread use. The most promising schemes are believed to be those based on the mathematics of...
The Beautiful Mathematical Explorations of Maryam Mirzakhani
...as “unrelatable and incomprehensible,” given that they were “math challenged.” However, Maryam was the opposite of unrelatable. She reminded us, in words and actions, that mathematical ideas can be understood...
The Mathematician Who Delights in Building Bridges
...her experiences in mathematics and her work on the Langlands program, which has been described as a way to create a “grand unified theory of mathematics.” The interview has been...
Mathematicians Identify the Best Versions of Iconic Shapes
...of shapes. These results occupy a quirky corner of math and, fittingly, have been produced by unlikely collaborations, involving a mathematician practicing origami with his wife and a professor teaching...