Mathematics
6 Marvelous Math Stories from 2022
Math made a splash this year. Here’s a look at the fascinating discoveries, mind-bending quests and important events in mathematics in 2022
Mathematics30 articles archived since 1845
Mathematics
How Many Yottabytes in a Quettabyte? Extreme Numbers Get New Names
Prolific generation of data drove the need for prefixes that denote 1027 and 1030
Mathematics
Why 2 Is the Best Number and Other Secrets from a MacArthur-Winning Mathematician
Mathematician Melanie Matchett Wood seeks creative ways of solving open math problems
Mathematics
Mathematician Who Solved Prime Number Riddle Claims New Breakthrough
After shocking the mathematics community with a major result in 2013, Yitang Zhang now says he has solved an analogue of the celebrated Riemann hypothesis
Mathematics
Geometry Reveals the Tricks behind Gerrymandering
Some voting districts are tilted intentionally toward one party or another—a factor in the midterms. Geometry plays a critical role in gerrymandering
Mathematics
Ramsey Theory Extracts Order from Chaos when Sorting through Confusing Arrangements of Numbers
Mathematician Frank Ramsey showed how to discover coherent patterns among a multitude of number groupings
Mathematics
Citizens’ Assemblies Are Upgrading Democracy: Fair Algorithms Are Part of the Program
Math helps to randomly select the fairest citizens’ assemblies since antiquity
Mathematics
Can God Be Proved Mathematically?
Some mathematicians have sought a logical proof for the existence of God. Here’s what they discovered
Mathematics
The Elusive Origin of Zero
Who decided that nothing should be something?
Statistics
How Florence Nightingale Changed Data Visualization Forever
The celebrated nurse improved public health through her groundbreaking use of graphic storytelling
Mathematics
Ukrainian Mathematician Becomes Second Woman to Win Prestigious Fields Medal
Maryna Viazovska, who works on the geometry of spheres, is one of four winners of the coveted prize this year
Mathematics
Mathematicians Are Trying to ‘Hear’ Shapes—And Reach Higher Dimensions
An intriguing question about drums kicked off decades of inquiry
Mathematics
Math in 3-D: Q&A with Abel Prize Winner Dennis Sullivan
His groundbreaking work combined the mathematical field of topology with string theory
Mathematics
Virtuoso Mathematician Who Reshaped Topology Wins Abel Prize
Dennis Sullivan’s work has advanced the study of shapes, and he developed tools that have helped to solve many mathematical problems
Mathematics
The Evolving Quest for a Grand Unified Theory of Mathematics
More than 50 years after the seeds of a vast collection of mathematical ideas called the Langlands program began to sprout, surprising new findings are emerging
Mathematics
3 Revolutionary Women of Mathematics
Everyone knows that history's great mathematicians were all men—but everybody is wrong
Mathematics
Mathematicians Protest Russia Hosting Major Conference
For years, concerned researchers have been calling for a boycott of the 2022 International Congress of Mathematicians
Mathematics
New Math Research Group Reflects a Schism in the Field
Critics accuse the organization of opposing efforts to stamp out inequity
Mathematics
Gnarly, Centuries-Old Mathematical Quandaries Get New Solutions
A set of puzzles called Diophantine problems are often simple to state but hard to solve—though progress could have big implications for the future of mathematics
Mathematics
Simple Mathematical Law Predicts Movement in Cities around the World
A new model could help model disease transmission and urban planning
