Stories about math and mathematicians.
The human brain is both a marvel and a mystery of evolution: Packed into a volume about one-quarter that of an inflated soccer ball, somewhere around 86 billion neurons form networks that enable us to do everything from mindlessly scrolling through Instagram to safely sending people into space. But a deeper understanding of the structure of those […]
Your Hyperbolic Mind Read More »
More than 70 years ago, researchers at the forefront of artificial intelligence research introduced neural networks as a revolutionary way to think about how the brain works. In the human brain, networks of billions of connected neurons make sense of sensory data, allowing us to learn from experience. Artificial neural networks can also filter huge
Symbolic mathematics finally yields to neural networks Read More »
In 1998, a few dozen computer scientists and mathematicians gathered at a picturesque seaside resort on the Tuscan island of Elba off the west coast of Italy. They were there to attend a scientific gathering unlike any other. The 17 presentations suggested peculiar offerings. One explored an algorithmic answer to the question, “What if mathematicians
“What if mathematicians were asked to defuse bombs?” Read More »
For wild chase scenes, it’s hard to beat Doctor Strange. In this 2016 film, the fictional doctor-turned-sorcerer has to stop villains who want to destroy reality. To further complicate matters, the evildoers have unusual powers of their own. “The bad guys in the film have the power to reshape the world around them,” explains Alexis Wajsbrot. He’s a
How math makes movies like Doctor Strange so otherworldly Read More »
Justin Burton’s fascination with soap bubbles began in Barcelona, Spain, six summers ago. “It was hot and humid, and there were guys on the street making these huge bubbles,” he says. “I thought it was the coolest thing.” When he returned home, his sister gave him a giant bubble wand. It included a recipe for
Scientists find the secret to colossal bubbles Read More »
The human nose finds it simple to distinguish the aroma of fresh coffee from the stink of rotten eggs, but the underlying biochemistry is complicated. Researchers have now created an olfactory “map”—a geometric model of how molecules combine to produce various scents. This map could inspire a way to predict how people might perceive certain
Unraveling the Mathematics of Smell Read More »
According to the United Nations (UN), nearly 1 billion of the 8 billion people in the world live in slums (1). These dense and disordered communities form in urban areas without a formal plan; their residents frequently lack addresses. Often they don’t have immediate access to water, power, or emergency services. Slums stem from all
Can the principles of topology help improve the world’s slums? Read More »
And how mathematical collaborations yield breakthroughs. The biggest math heist in years happened the morning of Aug. 1 in a Rio de Janeiro auditorium packed with witnesses — none of whom saw it happen. The math world’s largest conference, the International Congress of Mathematicians, occurs every four years, and during the meeting, two to four
Prizes, Thievery and Higher-Dimensional Doughnuts Read More »
How much beauty does it take to launch a ship? Howmuch does a male physicist’s beard grow in a second?And what is the optimal length of a lecture? Thesemay not seem like typical phenomena you need tomeasure, but they’ve nonetheless inspired creativesouls to forge new units of measurement.They are just some of the weird scales
On January 9, 2018, a trio of federal judges made history when they ruled that the boundaries of North Carolina’s congressional voting districts gave an unfair advantage to Republican candidates. It was the first case in the nation in which a federal court had declared congressional maps unconstitutional because of intentional bias in favor of
Math tools send legislators back to the drawing board Read More »
