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How to Solve Equations That Are Stubborn as a Goat
Math teachers have stymied students for hundreds of years by sticking goats in strangely shaped fields. Learn why one grazing goat problem has stumped mathematicians for more than a century.
How Radio Astronomy Reveals the Universe
Radio waves, longer and less energetic than visible light, give astronomers access to some of the most obscure physics in the cosmos.
The Mysterious Math of Perfection
Enter the world of perfect numbers and explore the mystery mathematicians have spent thousands of years trying to solve.
Isadore Singer Transcended Mathematical Boundaries
A former graduate student reflects on how Isadore Singer, who died on February 11, brought together mathematicians, physicists and anyone else interested in the deeper connections between diverse fields.
How to Understand COVID-19 Variants and Their Effects on Vaccines
Researchers are tracking the different strains of SARS-CoV-2 and studying how they spread through our population and our bodies.
Topology 101: The Hole Truth
The relationships among the properties of flexible shapes have fascinated mathematicians for centuries.
The Crooked Geometry of Round Trips
Imagine if we lived on a cube-shaped Earth. How would you find the shortest path around the world?
How Claude Shannon Invented the Future
Today’s information age is only possible thanks to the groundbreaking work of a lone genius.
Contemplating the End of Physics
Has physics reached the limits of what we can discover — or are the possibilities only just beginning?