Culture

People pair mathematical proofs with paintings and pieces of music similarly

Combining two types of machine intelligence could open new frontiers of art

Western ears consider a pitch at double the frequency of a lower pitch to be the same note, an octave higher. The Tsimane’, an indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon basin, do not.

Physics historian Graham Farmelo talks about his latest book, The Universe Speaks in Numbers: How Modern Math Reveals Nature's Deepest Secrets.

Some big questions, such as how matter makes mind and what quantum mechanics means, may not have a single, definitive answer

Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American 

Scientists harness “structural color” to create images in plastic 

A program at the University of Illinois trains indigenous scientists in genomics—in hopes that future work will be aimed at benefiting those communities. Christine Herman reports. 

U.S. Military Academy cadets wear the colors black, gray and gold for reasons found in gunpowder’s chemistry.

Journalist and author David Epstein talks about his new book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.

Honest, involuntary laughter cued people to laugh more at some really bad jokes than they did when hearing forced laughter.

Book recommendations from the editors of Scientific American