Math
Discover articles and videos in Math
Why Mathematical Proof Is a Social Compact
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-mathematical-proof-is-a-social-compact-20230831 • 13+ min
Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite within reach.
What is a square?
https://plus.maths.org/content/what-square • 5 min
If a shape has equal sides with 90 degree angles between them then it's a square, right? Well, not quite...
‘A-Team’ of Math Proves a Critical Link Between Addition and Sets
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-team-of-math-proves-a-critical-link-between-addition-and-sets-20231206 • 11+ min
A team of four prominent mathematicians, including two Fields medalists, proved a conjecture described as a “holy grail of additive combinatorics.”
4,844 People Agree With Me, 574 Disagree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeSu9fBJ2sI
For decades, the Sleeping Beauty Problem has divided people between two answers. Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial, an...
A world from a sheet of paper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p02DtmyQhU
Starting from just a sheet of paper, by folding, stacking, crumpling, sometimes tearing, Tadashi will explore a diversity of phenomena, from magic tricks and...
What Is a Particle?
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-particle-20201112 • 11+ min
It has been thought of as many things: a pointlike object, an excitation of a field, a speck of pure math that has cut into reality. But never has physicists’ conception of a particle changed more…
A Close-Up View Reveals the ‘Melting’ Point of an Infinite Graph
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-close-up-view-reveals-the-melting-point-of-an-infinite-graph-20231218 • 6 min
Just as ice melts to water, graphs undergo phase transitions. Two mathematicians showed that they can pinpoint such transitions by examining only local structure.
Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking
https://www.quantamagazine.org/alan-turing-and-the-power-of-negative-thinking-20230905 • 5 min
Mathematical proofs based on a technique called diagonalization can be relentlessly contrarian, but they help reveal the limits of algorithms.
What is it to be Bayesian? The (pretty simple) math modelling behind a Big Data buzzword
https://aeon.co/videos/what-is-it-to-be-bayesian-the-pretty-simple-math-modelling-behind-a-big-data-buzzword
If you’ve ever tripped up over the term ‘Bayesian’ while reading up on data or tech, fear not. Strip away the jargon and notation, and even the mathematics-averse can make sense of the simple yet…
Space filling curves filling with water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWzXF9B68nQ
Get an exclusive Surfshark deal: enter promo code STEVEMOULD for an extra 3 months free at https://surfshark.deals/stevemould*literallySpace filling curves a...
The Two-Century Quest to Quantify Our Senses
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-two-century-quest-to-quantify-our-senses • 12+ min
The quantification of bodies, senses, and experience did not begin with surveillance capitalism but can be traced back to mathematical and statistical techniques of the 19th century.
The Astonishing Behavior of Recursive Sequences
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-astonishing-behavior-of-recursive-sequences-20231116 • 5 min
Some strange mathematical sequences are always whole numbers — until they’re not. The puzzling patterns have revealed ties to graph theory and prime numbers, awing mathematicians.