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Mathematics

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How Does Math Keep Secrets?

August 1, 2024

Cryptography is the thread that connects Julius Caesar, World War II and quantum computing, and it now lies under nearly every part of modern life. In this week’s episode, computer scientist Boaz Barak and co-host Janna Levin discuss the past and future of secrecy.

Monumental Proof Settles Geometric Langlands Conjecture

July 19, 2024

In work that has been 30 years in the making, mathematicians have proved a major part of a profound mathematical vision called the Langlands program.

What Are Sheaves?

July 19, 2024

These metaphorical gardens have become central objects in modern mathematics.

‘Sensational’ Proof Delivers New Insights Into Prime Numbers

July 15, 2024

The proof creates stricter limits on potential exceptions to the famous Riemann hypothesis.

Q&A

How America’s Fastest Swimmers Use Math to Win Gold

July 10, 2024

Number theorist Ken Ono is teaching Olympians to swim more efficiently.

What Can Tiling Patterns Teach Us?

July 3, 2024

If you cover a surface with tiles, repetitive patterns always emerge — or do they? In this week’s episode, mathematician Natalie Priebe Frank and co-host Janna Levin discuss how recent breakthroughs in tiling can unlock structural secrets in the natural world.

With Fifth Busy Beaver, Researchers Approach Computation’s Limits

July 2, 2024

After decades of uncertainty, a motley team of programmers has proved precisely how complicated simple computer programs can get.

Why Is This Shape So Terrible to Pack?

June 28, 2024

Two mathematicians have proved a long-standing conjecture that is a step on the way toward finding the worst shape for packing the plane.

How the Square Root of 2 Became a Number

June 21, 2024

Useful mathematical concepts, like the number line, can linger for millennia before they are rigorously defined.

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