Math

Sign up for our newsletter

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Math

    The Mind of the Swarm

    Mathematics is helping explain how animals form flocks, swarms, and schools.

    By Erica Klarreich
  2. Math

    Form Plus Function

    Numbers, lines, squares, and shadows add up to an intriguing set of artworks rooted in mathematical concepts.

    By Ivars Peterson
  3. Math

    Quark Park

    Math-inspired and science-related artworks enliven an imaginatively landscaped sliver of parkland.

    By Ivars Peterson
  4. Math

    Designer Decimals

    Fractions can yield amazingly familiar decimal expansions.

    By Ivars Peterson
  5. Math

    Mining the Yesternet

    Digital records allow social scientists to study online communities and the diffusion of innovation.

    By Ivars Peterson
  6. Math

    The Great Tile Debate

    For subway flooring, why switch from hexagonal to square tiles?

    By Ivars Peterson
  7. Math

    Swirling Seas, Crystal Balls

    A remarkable geometric shape made up of a sequence of triangles leads to a host of intriguing forms and mobile structures.

    By Ivars Peterson
  8. Math

    Knots in Proteins

    Knotted proteins are rare but more than just random occurrences.

    By Ivars Peterson
  9. Math

    Messiness Rules: In high dimensions, disorder packs tightest

    In high dimensions, disorderly arrangements of spheres pack together more densely than orderly arrangements do.

    By Julie Rehmeyer
  10. Math

    The Eclipse That Saved Columbus

    An eclipse prediction in a book of astronomical tables helped Columbus out of a jam.

    By Ivars Peterson
  11. Math

    Math Factor Radio

    Listen in on some math radio and browse for science songs.

    By Ivars Peterson
  12. Math

    Euler’s Bridges

    A well-known puzzle about bridges led to a pioneering paper in topology.

    By Ivars Peterson