Mathematics

In our mind’s eye, the universe seems to go on forever. But using geometry we can explore a variety of three-dimensional shapes that offer alternatives to “ordinary” infinite space.

Ronald Rivest helped come up with the RSA algorithm, which safeguards online commerce. Now he’s hoping to make democratic elections more trustworthy.

The mathematician Tadashi Tokieda and host Steven Strogatz explore what we can learn about the world from simple “toys” with remarkable physical or mathematical properties.

Finding the best way to approximate the ever-elusive irrational numbers pits the infinitely large against the infinitely small.

Computer scientists established a new boundary on computationally verifiable knowledge. In doing so, they solved major open problems in quantum mechanics and pure mathematics.

John Urschel, who retired from playing professional football with the Baltimore Ravens to become a mathematician, talks to host Steven Strogatz about the fascinations of graph theory that lured him away from the NFL.

Mathematicians have proved that copies of smaller graphs can always be used to perfectly cover larger ones.

The mathematical biologist Corina Tarnita explains to host Steven Strogatz how quantitative modeling solved the mystery of fairy circles.

Explore our surprisingly simple, absurdly ambitious and necessarily incomplete guide to the boundless mathematical universe.