Math Trek

  1. Math

    Prime Twins

    Number theory offers a host of problems that are remarkably easy to state but fiendishly difficult to solve. Many of these questions and conjectures feature prime numbers–integers evenly divisible only by themselves and 1. For instance, primes often occur as pairs of consecutive odd integers: 3 and 5, 5 and 7, 11 and 13, 17 […]

    By Ivars Peterson
  2. Math

    Cosmic Numerology

    Like the ancient Pythagoreans, astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) found numbers fascinating. Imbued with the same conviction of a natural order that drove Pythagoras (c. 580–500 B.C.) and his followers to search for an underlying numerical harmony, Kepler maintained that the physical universe was laid out according to a mathematical design that was simple and accessible […]

    By Ivars Peterson
  3. Math

    Cosmic Numerology

    Like the ancient Pythagoreans, astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) found numbers fascinating.