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Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician
...a potential Polymath problem. Polymath began about 10 years ago when Timothy Gowers, a mathematician at the University of Cambridge, wanted to find a way to facilitate massive online collaborations...
Why Mathematicians Can’t Find the Hay in a Haystack
In math, sometimes the most common things are the hardest to find. The first time I heard a mathematician use the phrase, I was sure he’d misspoken. We were on...
Mathematicians Catch a Pattern by Figuring Out How to Avoid It
We finally know how big a set of numbers can get before it has to contain a pattern known as a “polynomial progression.” Some mathematical patterns are so subtle you...
Mathematician Proves Huge Result on ‘Dangerous’ Problem
Mathematicians regard the Collatz conjecture as a quagmire and warn each other to stay away. But now Terence Tao has made more progress than anyone in decades. Experienced mathematicians warn...
John Conway Solved Mathematical Problems With His Bare Hands
The legendary mathematician, who died on April 11, was curious, colorful and one of the greatest problem-solvers of his generation. In modern mathematics, many of the biggest advances are great...
The Mathematical Structure of Particle Collisions Comes Into View
Physicists have identified an algebraic structure underlying the messy mathematics of particle collisions. Some hope it will lead to a more elegant theory of the natural world. When particle physicists...
Conducting the Mathematical Orchestra From the Middle
...the viola creates a richer orchestral sound, “there’s a sense in which category theory makes mathematics deeper,” she said. The categorical perspective emerged in mathematics in 1945 when Samuel Eilenberg...
Mathematicians Settle Erdős Coloring Conjecture
Fifty years ago, Paul Erdős and two other mathematicians came up with a graph theory problem that they thought they might solve on the spot. A team of mathematicians has...
Mathematicians Prove Symmetry of Phase Transitions
A group of mathematicians has shown that at critical moments, a symmetry called rotational invariance is a universal property across many physical systems. For more than 50 years, mathematicians have...