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Mathematics

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Without a Proof, Mathematicians Wonder How Much Evidence Is Enough

October 31, 2018

A new statistical model appears to undermine long-held assumptions in number theory. How much should it be trusted when all that really matters is proof?

Scientists Learn the Ropes on Tying Molecular Knots

October 29, 2018

As chemists tie the most complicated molecular knot yet, biophysicists create a “periodic table” that describes what kinds of knots are possible.

The (Imaginary) Numbers at the Edge of Reality

October 25, 2018

Odd enough to potentially model the strangeness of the physical world, complex numbers with “imaginary” components are rooted in the familiar.

A Proof About Where Symmetries Can’t Exist

October 23, 2018

In a major mathematical achievement, a small team of researchers has proven Zimmer’s conjecture.

How Equality and Inequality Shape the Birds and the Bees

October 17, 2018

Two dynamic, seemingly opposing forces likely played an important role in the evolution of reproduction and child rearing in social animals like bees and humans.

Graduate Student Solves Quantum Verification Problem

October 8, 2018

Urmila Mahadev spent eight years in graduate school solving one of the most basic questions in quantum computation: How do you know whether a quantum computer has done anything quantum at all?

Titans of Mathematics Clash Over Epic Proof of ABC Conjecture

September 20, 2018

Two mathematicians have found what they say is a hole at the heart of a proof that has convulsed the mathematics community for nearly six years.

Why Mathematicians Can’t Find the Hay in a Haystack

September 17, 2018

In math, sometimes the most common things are the hardest to find.

Solution: ‘Evolutionary Math and Just-So Stories’

September 7, 2018

How much stock should we put in mathematical models of evolution that have not been validated by rigorous empirical data?

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