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Mathematics
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The Rise of Computer-Aided Explanation
Computers can translate French and prove mathematical theorems. But can they make deep conceptual insights into the way the world works?
Solution: ‘Information From Randomness?’
The counterintuitive solution to this month’s puzzle raises philosophical questions about randomness and information.
Famous Fluid Equations Are Incomplete
A 115-year effort to bridge the particle and fluid descriptions of nature has led mathematicians to an unexpected answer.
Can Information Rise From Randomness?
Quanta’s new puzzle column asks you to believe the seemingly impossible — that you can win at a number guessing game with absolutely no information.
The Nine Schoolgirls Challenge
Solve this variation of Thomas Kirkman’s famous 1850 puzzle by arranging girls in walking groups. And think fast — the clock is ticking.
A Design Dilemma Solved, Minus Designs
A 150-year-old conundrum about how to group people has been solved, but many puzzles remain.
Will Computers Redefine the Roots of Math?
The Fields medalist Vladimir Voevodsky has died at 51. This 2015 article describes his computer-aided quest to eliminate human error and rewrite the century-old rules underlying all of mathematics.
For Persi Diaconis’ Next Magic Trick …
A mathematician who has analyzed card shuffling for decades is tackling one final nemesis: “smooshing.”
A Grand Theory of Wrinkles
A collaboration between mechanical engineers and mathematicians has revealed universal rules for how wrinkles form.