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Mathematics

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How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too

October 6, 2016

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

October 5, 2016

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

September 29, 2016

The author shows how new mathematical techniques can be used to revitalize a 650-year-old work of art.

Hacker-Proof Code Confirmed

September 20, 2016

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

September 15, 2016

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’

September 7, 2016

City blocks help illustrate why walking randomly tends to take you away from your starting point.

A Drunkard’s Walk in Manhattan

August 18, 2016

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’

August 8, 2016

What can the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan teach us about number theory through mathematical structures involving infinity?

Air Traffic Control for Random Surfaces

August 5, 2016

Mathematicians have had a hard time finding commonalities in large groups of random shapes — until recently.

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