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2021’s Biggest Breakthroughs in Math and Computer Science
...answer about the nature of infinity. And a mathematician finally managed to model quantum gravity. Emily Buder/Quanta Magazine; Adrian Vasquez de Velasco for Quanta Magazine; Myriam Wares for Quanta Magazine...
Why e, the Transcendental Math Constant, Is Just the Best
...said of John von Neumann’s mathematical writing that it is important when reading math to follow the tune of the conceptual argument — the equations are merely the “orchestration down...
What Hot Dogs Can Teach Us About Number Theory
The Chinese remainder theorem is an ancient and powerful extension of the simple math of least common multiples. If you’ve ever had to buy hot dogs for a cookout, you...
The Mathematician Who Delights in Building Bridges
...her experiences in mathematics and her work on the Langlands program, which has been described as a way to create a “grand unified theory of mathematics.” The interview has been...
Surprising Limits Discovered in Quest for Optimal Solutions
...to spend limited free time before bed. These scenarios and many others can be represented as a mathematical optimization problem. Making the best decisions is a matter of finding their...
Where Transcendental Numbers Hide in Everyday Math
...the ordinary, something that is hidden and mysterious, with almost magical or mystical powers. In mathematics, on the other hand, the meaning of the term “transcendental” is more mundane. It...
How Tadayuki Watanabe Disproved a Major Conjecture About Spheres
...symmetries. The Mystery Continues Watanabe’s result closed one front of mathematical research. It also opened another. After his work, mathematicians knew the Smale conjecture was false in all dimensions four...
Mathematicians Prove Melting Ice Stays Smooth
...is. Soapy Inspiration In the decade before mathematicians began to understand the ice melting equations, they made tremendous progress on the mathematics of soap films. If you dip two wire...
The Simple Math Behind the Mighty Roots of Unity
Solutions to the simplest polynomial equations — called “roots of unity” — have an elegant structure that mathematicians still use to study some of math’s greatest open questions. If you’ve...