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How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too
Computer scientists have come up with a bounded algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any number of people.
Meet the New Math, Unlike the Old Math
The latest effort to overhaul math and science education offers a fundamental rethinking of the basic structure of knowledge. But will it be given time to work?
Using Mathematics to Repair a Masterpiece
The author shows how new mathematical techniques can be used to revitalize a 650-year-old work of art.
Hacker-Proof Code Confirmed
Computer scientists can prove certain programs to be error-free with the same certainty that mathematicians prove theorems.
The Strange Second Life of String Theory
String theory has so far failed to live up to its promise as a way to unite gravity and quantum mechanics. At the same time, it has blossomed into one of the most useful sets of tools in science.
Solution: ‘A Drunkard’s Walk in Manhattan’
City blocks help illustrate why walking randomly tends to take you away from your starting point.
A Drunkard’s Walk in Manhattan
Why is it that when you walk randomly, the more you walk, the farther you get from your starting point?
Solution: ‘Puzzles Inspired by Ramanujan’
What can the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan teach us about number theory through mathematical structures involving infinity?
Air Traffic Control for Random Surfaces
Mathematicians have had a hard time finding commonalities in large groups of random shapes — until recently.