For all of the recent strides we’ve made in the math world—like a supercomputer finally solving the Sum of Three Cubes problem that puzzled mathematicians for 65 years—we’re forever crunching ...

A ripple tells you something happened, but not exactly what. That is the core problem behind a hard class of equations that ...

Tessellations aren’t just eye-catching patterns—they can be used to crack complex mathematical problems. By repeatedly reflecting shapes to tile a surface, researchers uncovered a method that links ...

Every year, the countries competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad arrive with a booklet of their best, most ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

Every year, thousands of college students from across the U.S. and Canada give up a full Saturday before finals begin to take a notoriously difficult, 6-hour math test — and not for a grade, but for ...

Has the advent of computers as the main tool for hard-core mathematical physics made students stronger or weaker? Before you read any further, you need to know that I just turned 60, which may or may ...

Think of the last time you concentrated deeply to solve a challenging problem. To crack a math puzzle or determine a chess move, for example, you might have had to screen multiple strategies and ...

Some math problems have been challenging us for centuries, and while brain-busters like these hard math problems may seem impossible, someone is bound to solve ’em eventually. Well, maybe. For now, ...