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mathematics

Latest Articles

A man in a blue jacket on a staircase.
Q&A

A Plan to Address the World’s Challenges With Math

By Kevin Hartnett
May 11, 2023
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Minhyong Kim is leading a new initiative called Mathematics for Humanity that encourages mathematicians to apply their skills to solving social problems.

algorithms

The Most Important Machine That Was Never Built

By Sheon Han
May 3, 2023
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When he invented Turing machines in 1936, Alan Turing also invented modern computing.

A visual argument explaining why the Ramsey number of three is six.
graph theory

A Very Big Small Leap Forward in Graph Theory

By Leila Sloman
May 2, 2023
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Four mathematicians have found a new upper limit to the “Ramsey number,” a crucial property describing unavoidable structure in graphs.

A complex machine produces prime numbers onto a conveyor belt that winds backwards into infinity.
number theory

Why Mathematicians Re-Prove What They Already Know

By Anna Kramer
April 26, 2023
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It’s been known for thousands of years that the primes go on forever, but new proofs give fresh insights into how theorems depend on one another.

combinatorics

The Number 15 Describes the Secret Limit of an Infinite Grid

By Kevin Hartnett
April 20, 2023
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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.

The Joy of Why

How Can Some Infinities Be Bigger Than Others?

By Steven Strogatz
April 19, 2023
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All infinities go on forever, so how is it possible for some infinities to be larger than others? The mathematician Justin Moore discusses the mysteries of infinity with Steven Strogatz.

mathematical physics

A New Symmetry Shakes Up Physics

By Kevin Hartnett
April 18, 2023
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So-called “higher symmetries” are illuminating everything from particle decays to the behavior of complex quantum systems.

combinatorics

Mathematicians Find Hidden Structure in a Common Type of Space

By Jordana Cepelewicz
April 12, 2023
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In 50 years of searching, mathematicians found only one example of a “subspace design” in a vector space. A new proof reveals that there are infinitely more out there.

mathematical physics

How to Tame the Infinities Hiding in the Heart of Particle Physics

By Charlie Wood
April 6, 2023
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In the math of particle physics, every calculation should result in infinity. The set of techniques known as “resurgence” points toward an escape.


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