Math

Are you as good at Scrabble as you think?

In practice, quantum computers can’t run many programs that classical computers can, because they’re not allowed to selectively forget information. A new algorithm for multiplication shows a way around that problem.

The sum-of-three-cubes problem solved for “stubborn” number 33.

With a better understanding of probability, we won’t be misled.

Recent progress on the “sum product” problem recalls a celebrated mathematical result that revealed the power of miniature number systems.

How a math professor learned to stop worrying and love algebraic geometry.

Digital security depends on the difficulty of factoring large numbers. A new proof shows why one method for breaking digital encryption won’t work.

An experiment in controlling how much of Scrabble is luck.

Alexander Smith’s work on the Goldfeld conjecture reveals fundamental characteristics of elliptic curves.