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Math

Why Mathematicians Like to Classify Things

It’s “a definitive study for all time, like writing the final book,” says one researcher who’s mapping out new classes of geometric structures.

August 15, 2017

Claude Shannon, the Las Vegas Shark

The father of information theory built a machine to game roulette, then abandoned it.

Marjorie Rice’s Secret Pentagons

A California housewife who in the 1970s discovered four new types of tessellating pentagons is dead at 94.

July 12, 2017

The Tricky Translation of Mathematical Ideas

Big advances in math can happen when mathematicians move ideas into areas where they seem like they shouldn’t belong.

June 28, 2017

Chaos Makes the Multiverse Unnecessary

Science predicts only the predictable, ignoring most of our chaotic universe.

June 19, 2017

Cash for Math: The Erdős Prizes Live On

Paul Erdős placed small bounties on hundreds of unsolved math problems. Over the past 20 years, only a handful have been claimed.

June 5, 2017

The Impossible Mathematics of the Real World

Near-miss math provides exact representations of almost-right answers.

June 2, 2017

The Mathematics of Juggling

Juggling has advanced enormously in recent decades, thanks in part to the mathematical study of possible patterns.

May 25, 2017

A Simple Visual Proof of a Powerful Idea

Ramsey’s theorem predicts a surprising (and useful) consistency in the organization of graphs. Here’s a simple visual proof of how it works.

April 13, 2017

Physicists Attack Math’s $1,000,000 Question

Physicists are attempting to map the distribution of the prime numbers to the energy levels of a particular quantum system.

April 6, 2017

Yves Meyer, Wavelet Expert, Wins Abel Prize

The French mathematician was cited “for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets.”

March 23, 2017