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A Mathematician Dancing Between Algebra and Geometry

November 22, 2022

Wei Ho, the first director of the Women and Mathematics program at the Institute for Advanced Study, combines algebra and geometry in her work on an ancient class of curves.

The Simple Geometry Behind Brownie Bake Offs and Equal Areas

November 21, 2022

Proving that two polygons have the same area can be as easy as cutting them up and rearranging the pieces.

Computer Proof ‘Blows Up’ Centuries-Old Fluid Equations

November 16, 2022

For more than 250 years, mathematicians have wondered if the Euler equations might sometimes fail to describe a fluid’s flow. A new computer-assisted proof marks a major breakthrough in that quest.

Cryptography’s Future Will Be Quantum-Safe. Here’s How It Will Work.

November 9, 2022

Lattice cryptography promises to protect secrets from the attacks of far-future quantum computers.

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A Mathematician Who Fled to Freedom but Still Stares Down Doubts

November 1, 2022

Svetlana Jitomirskaya was born in Ukraine, but left the Soviet Union to escape sexism and antisemitism. Even though her work in mathematical physics has now been honored with one of the field’s top prizes, she finds herself still fighting old battles.

Why Mathematicians Study Knots

October 31, 2022

Far from being an abstract mathematical curiosity, knot theory has driven many findings in math and beyond.

How to Win at Wordle (Without Cheating)

October 25, 2022

Solve these puzzle questions to level up your Wordle game.

Mathematicians Discover the Fibonacci Numbers Hiding in Strange Spaces

October 17, 2022

Recent explorations of unique geometric worlds reveal perplexing patterns, including the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio.

Teenager Solves Stubborn Riddle About Prime Number Look-Alikes

October 13, 2022

In his senior year of high school, Daniel Larsen proved a key theorem about Carmichael numbers — strange entities that mimic the primes.

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