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A Brief History of Tricky Mathematical Tiling

October 30, 2023

The discovery earlier this year of the “hat” tile marked the culmination of hundreds of years of work into tiles and their symmetries.

How Genetic Surprises Complicate the Old Doctrine of DNA

July 31, 2023

For over a century, biologists have had to contend with a complicated picture of genetics, which they’ve only recently begun to understand.

What Does It Mean to Align AI With Human Values?

December 13, 2022

Making sure our machines understand the intent behind our instructions is an important problem that requires understanding intelligence itself.

How to Think About Relativity

November 14, 2022

Albert Einstein’s ideas about space-time aren’t exactly intuitive, and they aren’t exactly Einstein’s, either.

How Isaac Newton Discovered the Binomial Power Series

August 31, 2022

Rethinking questions and chasing patterns led Newton to find the connection between curves and infinite sums.

What Is the Langlands Program?

June 1, 2022

The Langlands program provides a beautifully intricate set of connections between various areas of mathematics, pointing the way toward novel solutions for old problems.