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Mathematics

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Secret Link Uncovered Between Pure Math and Physics

December 1, 2017

An eminent mathematician reveals that his advances in the study of millennia-old mathematical questions owe to concepts derived from physics.

Q&A

A Physicist’s Physicist Ponders the Nature of Reality

November 28, 2017

Edward Witten reflects on the meaning of dualities in physics and math, emergent space-time, and the pursuit of a complete description of nature.

Q&A

A Mathematician Who Dances to the Joys and Sorrows of Discovery

November 20, 2017

Federico Ardila opens up about his journey as a mathematician, teacher, Colombian transplant, DJ and creator of mathematical spaces.

The Atomic Theory of Origami

October 31, 2017

By reimagining the kinks and folds of origami as atoms in a lattice, researchers are uncovering strange behavior hiding in simple structures.

Best-Ever Algorithm Found for Huge Streams of Data

October 24, 2017

To efficiently analyze a firehose of data, scientists first have to break big numbers into bits.

The Math Behind Gerrymandering and Wasted Votes

October 12, 2017

Simple math can help scheming politicians manipulate district maps and cruise to victory. But it can also help identify and fix the problem.

Visionary Mathematician Vladimir Voevodsky Dies at 51

October 11, 2017

Voevodsky’s friends remember him as constitutionally unable to compromise on the truth — a quality that led him to produce some of the most important mathematics of the 20th century.

Solution: ‘Are Genes Selfish or Cooperative?’

September 29, 2017

Puzzle solvers rediscovered a simple mathematical result of Mendelian genetics and weighed in on a Richard Dawkins metaphor.

Moonshine Link Discovered for Pariah Symmetries

September 22, 2017

A type of symmetry so unusual that it was called a “pariah” turns out to have deep connections to number theory.

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