As AI keeps improving, mathematicians struggle to foretell their own future
First Proof is an effort to see whether LLMs can contribute meaningfully to pure mathematics research. The dust has settled on round one, and the results are surprising
Why Friday the 13th is a mathematical inevitability
No bad luck here—just lots of fascinating math that explains why the 13th of a month so often falls on a Friday
Mathematicians find one pi formula to rule them all
A mixture of AI and algorithms uncovered a hidden structure spanning 2,000 years of equations for pi
How to find pi in randomness all around you
Random coin flips, floppy needles and mathematical mysteries reveal pi in new ways
A clever math shortcut could reveal your problem-solving superpower
Mental math shortcuts suggest future STEM performance—and gender is a significant predictor
IBM scientists unveil the first ever “half-Möbius” molecule, with the help of quantum computing
A team at IBM Research has assembled a strange new ring-shaped molecule that bends around like a more complicated Möbius strip
Are prime numbers hiding inside black holes?
The strange case for prime numbers at the heart of physics
Why mathematicians hate Good Will Hunting
This Oscar-winning classic set a surprisingly simple mathematical challenge
Mathematicians make a breakthrough on 2,000-year-old problem of curves
Since ancient Greece, researchers have tried to isolate special rational points on curves. Now they have the first ever formula that applies uniformly to all curves
Who should shovel the snow? This weird math puzzle can help
Blizzards are a real-life example of what game theorists call the “snowdrift problem,” a cousin of the prisoner’s dilemma that offers clues to why we choose to cooperate
Math puzzle: The sum of all circles
Sum up the circles in this math puzzle
This mathematician proved a brilliant theorem to justify his social awkwardness
George Pólya’s random walk theorem absolved him of being a lurker and revealed how the laws of chance interact with physical space