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To Win This Numbers Game, Learn to Avoid Math Patterns
Sizing up patternless sets is hard, so mathematicians rely on simple bounds to help answer their questions.
What Other Coronaviruses Tell Us About SARS-CoV-2
As COVID-19 cases continue to increase, our extensive knowledge of other coronaviruses informs our understanding.
Remembering the Unstoppable Freeman Dyson
Freeman Dyson — physicist, mathematician, writer and idea factory — died on February 28, but his vitality lives on.
The Brain Reshapes Our Malleable Senses to Fit the World
How does experience alter our perceptions? This adapted book excerpt from We Know It When We See It describes how the brain’s visual system rewires itself to make the best use of its neural resources.
How Rational Math Catches Slippery Irrational Numbers
Finding the best way to approximate the ever-elusive irrational numbers pits the infinitely large against the infinitely small.
The Animal Origins of Coronavirus and Flu
Zoonotic diseases like influenza and many coronaviruses start out in animals, but their biological machinery often enables them to jump to humans.
The Age of Interstellar Visitors
As astronomers get better at finding the comets and asteroids of other stars, they’ll learn more about the universe and our place in it.
Why I’m Hosting The Joy of x Podcast
The noted mathematician and author Steven Strogatz explains why he wanted to share intimate conversations with leading researchers from diverse fields in his new podcast.
How Simple Math Can Cover Even the Most Complex Holes
No one knows how to find the smallest shape that can cover all other shapes of a certain width. But high school geometry is getting us closer to an answer.