Why This Great Mathematician Wanted a Heptadecagon on His Tombstone
Mathematician Gauss left behind a trophy case of mathematical achievements to highlight on his tombstone, but above all he wanted a regular heptadecagon etched on it
Kids Should Be Taught to Think Logically
Training in symbolic logic is critical in many careers, for responsible citizenship and better lives. It is also an underexploited antidote to today’s bizarre conspiracy thinking
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String Theorists Accidentally Find a New Formula for Pi
Two physicists have come across infinitely many novel equations for pi while trying to develop a unifying theory of the fundamental forces
High-Dimensional Sudoku Puzzle Proves Mathematicians Wrong about Long-Standing Geometry Problem
Mathematicians reveal that tiling your multidimensional bathroom will lead to never-ending disorder
What’s Next in the Sequence?
Can you find the pattern behind this progression of digits?
The Paradox of 1 – 1 + 1 – 1 + 1 – 1 + …
Why a mathematician thought this infinite series explained how God created the universe
Three of the Strangest Paradoxes in Mathematics
A barber shaves all men who don’t shave themselves. Does he shave himself? Mathematics offers explanations for this and other curious contradictions
Mathematicians Reinvent the Wheel in Higher Dimensions to Solve Decades-Old Geometry Problem
A new mathematical technique shows how to build small objects in any dimension that roll like a wheel, expanding our understanding of higher dimensional space
Quantum Physics Has Reopened Zeno’s Paradoxes
For thousands of years, scholars pondered the question of how anything can move in our world. The problem seemed to have been solved—until the development of quantum mechanics
Mathematicians Have Finally Found the Fifth ‘Busiest Beaver’
The busy beaver function is unpredictable. But now, after more than 40 years, the fifth value of the function has been revealed
Professional Poker Players Know the Optimal Strategy but Don’t Always Use It
Poker players can now employ AI to find the optimal playing strategy, but they often don’t use it. Here’s why
The Biggest Problem in Mathematics Is Finally a Step Closer to Being Solved
Number theorists have been trying to prove a conjecture about the distribution of prime numbers for more than 160 years