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2021 in Review

The Year in Math and Computer Science

By Bill Andrews
December 23, 2021
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Mathematicians and computer scientists answered major questions in topology, set theory and even physics, even as computers continued to grow more capable.

Quantized Academy

What Hot Dogs Can Teach Us About Number Theory

By Patrick Honner
November 18, 2021
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The Chinese remainder theorem is an ancient and powerful extension of the simple math of least common multiples.

Color photo of Ana Caraiani in a black coat standing on a bridge
Q&A

The Mathematician Who Delights in Building Bridges

By Steve Nadis
November 17, 2021
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Ana Caraiani seeks to unify mathematics through her work on the ambitious Langlands program.

An image with Lego blocks representing polynomials and their factors.
polynomials

Mathematicians Find Structure in Biased Polynomials

By Tamar Lichter Blanks
November 9, 2021
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New work establishes a tighter connection between the rank of a polynomial and the extent to which it favors particular outputs.

number theory

How Ancient War Trickery Is Alive in Math Today

By Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
September 14, 2021
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Legend says the Chinese military once used a mathematical ruse to conceal its troop numbers. The technique relates to many deep areas of modern math research.

Quantized Academy

How to Find Rational Points Like Your Job Depends on It

By Patrick Honner
July 22, 2021
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Using high school algebra and geometry, and knowing just one rational point on a circle or elliptic curve, we can locate infinitely many others.

Illustration showing geometric figures at left connected via wormhole to numbers at right.
Langlands program

New Shape Opens ‘Wormhole’ Between Numbers and Geometry

By Kevin Hartnett
July 19, 2021
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Laurent Fargues and Peter Scholze have found a new, more powerful way of connecting number theory and geometry as part of the sweeping Langlands program.

Color photo of Jordan Ellenberg sitting with a laptop by a lake at sunset
Q&A

A Number Theorist Who Connects Math to Other Creative Pursuits

By Steve Nadis
May 27, 2021
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Jordan Ellenberg enjoys studying — and writing about — the mathematics underlying everyday phenomena.

Illustration of figures building a large structure, with a new material being used for the latest additions
polynomials

Mathematicians Find Long-Sought Building Blocks for Special Polynomials

By Kelsey Houston-Edwards
May 25, 2021
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Hilbert’s 12th problem asked for novel analogues of the roots of unity, the building blocks for certain number systems. Now, over 100 years later, two mathematicians have produced them.


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