Mathematics

For a long time, the Kakeya conjecture, which involves rotating an infinitely narrow needle, kept mathematicians guessing—until now

A long-standing shape mystery has finally been solved

Masaki Kashiwara, this year’s Abel Prize winner, co-founded a new field of mathematics called algebraic analysis

Most movies follow one of six emotional arcs. Which one sells the most tickets?

Finish the cycle of numbers in this math puzzle

How an incorrect value of pi almost got codified into law

Mathematicians discuss some of the most compelling unsolved problems in the field

When a fan of a cult anime series wanted to watch its episodes in every possible order, they asked a question that had perplexed combinatorial mathematicians for years

Scientists studying a centuries-old mystery of physics suggest two “arrows of time” control the evolution of quantum systems

Decode the clues from a broken calculator in this math puzzle

Google’s AlphaGeometry2 AI reaches the level of gold-medal students in the International Mathematical Olympiad

A mathematician has uncovered the stories behind the symbols used in math