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algorithms

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A graphic showing improvements in the speed of matrix multiplication
algorithms

Matrix Multiplication Inches Closer to Mythic Goal

By Kevin Hartnett
March 23, 2021
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A recent paper set the fastest record for multiplying two matrices. But it also marks the end of the line for a method researchers have relied on for decades to make improvements.

Abel Prize

Pioneers Linking Math and Computer Science Win the Abel Prize

By Kevin Hartnett
March 17, 2021
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Avi Wigderson and László Lovász won for their work developing complexity theory and graph theory, respectively, and for connecting the two fields.

algorithms

New Algorithm Breaks Speed Limit for Solving Linear Equations

By Kevin Hartnett
March 8, 2021
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By harnessing randomness, a new algorithm achieves a fundamentally novel — and faster — way of performing one of the most basic computations in math and computer science.

geometry

Statistics Postdoc Tames Decades-Old Geometry Problem

By Erica Klarreich
March 1, 2021
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To the surprise of experts in the field, a postdoctoral statistician has solved one of the most important problems in high-dimensional convex geometry.

Animation of a neuron that periodically alters its responses to stimuli when it is reset into a new state by another input.
neural networks

Artificial Neural Nets Finally Yield Clues to How Brains Learn

By Anil Ananthaswamy
February 18, 2021
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The learning algorithm that enables the runaway success of deep neural networks doesn’t work in biological brains, but researchers are finding alternatives that could.

An animation showing chaotic swirls of purple coalesce into a single line
Abstractions blog

New Quantum Algorithms Finally Crack Nonlinear Equations

By Max G. Levy
January 5, 2021
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Two teams found different ways for quantum computers to process nonlinear systems by first disguising them as linear ones.

Q&A

The Computer Scientist Who Shrinks Big Data

By Allison Whitten
December 7, 2020
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Jelani Nelson designs clever algorithms that only have to remember slivers of massive data sets. He also teaches kids in Ethiopia how to code.

An illustration of computer scientists looking down a new road that breaks open a traveling salesperson route.
algorithms

Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record

By Erica Klarreich
October 8, 2020
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After 44 years, there’s finally a better way to find approximate solutions to the notoriously difficult traveling salesperson problem.

Aerial image of a complicated road network.
Abstractions blog

A New Algorithm for Graph Crossings, Hiding in Plain Sight

By Stephanie DeMarco
September 15, 2020
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Two computer scientists found — in the unlikeliest of places — just the idea they needed to make a big leap in graph theory.


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