Mathematics

Can you generate aesthetically pleasing, symmetrical curves with two numbers and a simple mathematical function?

Using crowd-sourced and traditional mathematics research, Terence Tao has devised a solution to a long-standing problem posed by the legendary Paul Erdős.

A major advance in computational complexity reveals deep connections between the classes of problems that computers can — and can’t — possibly do.

The solution to this month’s puzzle uses both mathematics and psychology to explain trouble with choosing the fastest route.

In the drive to safeguard data from future quantum computers, cryptographers have stumbled upon a thin red line between security and efficiency.

When there are two paths to your destination, why does it always seem like you’re on the road with more traffic?

A recent cryptographic breakthrough has proven difficult to put into practice. But new advances show how near-perfect computer security might be surprisingly close at hand.

The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mind at play.

The solution to this month’s puzzle examines the use of abstract probabilities as an antidote to real-world ignorance.