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How to Find Simple Treasures in Complex Numbers
In spite of their name, “imaginary” numbers are as real as any other numbers, especially when it comes to hunting for lost treasure.
Smaller Is Better: Why Finite Number Systems Pack More Punch
Recent progress on the “sum product” problem recalls a celebrated mathematical result that revealed the power of miniature number systems.
How a Strange Grid Reveals Hidden Connections Between Simple Numbers
A graduate student has helped illuminate a long-suspected connection between addition and multiplication.
Foundations Built for a General Theory of Neural Networks
Neural networks can be as unpredictable as they are powerful. Now mathematicians are beginning to reveal how a neural network’s form will influence its function.
The Trouble With Turbulence
Turbulence is everywhere, yet it is one of the most difficult concepts for physicists to understand.
A Movement to Close the Gender Gap in Mathematics
The Brazilian mathematician Carolina Araujo, who calls herself “a bit of an anarchist,” is organizing meetings and building a support network to study and solve the problems women face in mathematics.
Unscrambling the Hidden Secrets of Superpermutations
A science fiction novelist and an internet commenter made breakthroughs on a longstanding problem about the number of ways you can arrange a set of items. What did they discover?
The Year in Math and Computer Science
Several mathematicians under the age of 30 left their marks all over the field, and amateur problem-solvers of all ages made significant contributions to long-dormant puzzles.
Milestone Experiment Proves Quantum Communication Really Is Faster
In a Paris lab, researchers have shown for the first time that quantum methods of transmitting information are superior to classical ones.