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Mathematics

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Yves Meyer, Wavelet Expert, Wins Abel Prize

March 21, 2017

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

19 Women Leading Math and Physics

March 8, 2017

Top women in mathematics and physics discuss how they got to where they are — and why there aren’t more of them.

The Almost-Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem

March 3, 2017

19th-century mathematicians thought the “roots of unity” were the key to solving Fermat’s Last Theorem. Then they discovered a fatal flaw.

New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes

March 2, 2017

For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering.

Q&A

In Mathematics, ‘You Cannot Be Lied To’

February 21, 2017

For Sylvia Serfaty, mathematics is all about truth and beauty and building scientific and human connections.

The Hidden Twist to Making a Möbius Strip

February 9, 2017

The simple Möbius strip illustrates a deep mathematical challenge that has long tormented the field of symplectic geometry.

A Fight to Fix Geometry’s Foundations

February 9, 2017

When two mathematicians raised pointed questions about a classic proof that no one really understood, they ignited a years-long debate about how much could be trusted in a new kind of geometry.

Q&A

To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics

February 2, 2017

The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them.

Graph Isomorphism Vanquished — Again

January 14, 2017

Just five days after posting a retraction, László Babai announced that he had fixed the error in his landmark graph isomorphism algorithm.

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