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Busy Beaver Hunters Reach Numbers That Overwhelm Ordinary Math
The quest to find the longest-running simple computer program has identified a new champion. It’s physically impossible to write out the numbers involved using standard mathematical notation.
Mathematical Beauty, Truth and Proof in the Age of AI
Mathematicians have started to prepare for a profound shift in what it means to do math.
New Elliptic Curve Breaks 18-Year-Old Record
Two mathematicians have renewed a debate about the fundamental nature of some of math’s most important equations.
Math’s ‘Bunkbed Conjecture’ Has Been Debunked
It was intuitive, even obvious. It was also wrong.
With Fifth Busy Beaver, Researchers Approach Computation’s Limits
After decades of uncertainty, a motley team of programmers has proved precisely how complicated simple computer programs can get.
‘A-Team’ of Math Proves a Critical Link Between Addition and Sets
A team of four prominent mathematicians, including two Fields medalists, proved a conjecture described as a “holy grail of additive combinatorics.”
The Deep Link Equating Math Proofs and Computer Programs
Mathematical logic and the code of computer programs are, in an exact way, mirror images of each other.
Why Mathematical Proof Is a Social Compact
Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite within reach.
The Number 15 Describes the Secret Limit of an Infinite Grid
The “packing coloring” problem asks how many numbers are needed to fill an infinite grid so that identical numbers never get too close to one another. A new computer-assisted proof finds a surprisingly straightforward answer.