An Alternative to Conventional Neural Networks Could Help Reveal What AI Is Doing behind the Scenes
Despite their performance, current AI models have major weaknesses: they require enormous resources and are indecipherable. Help may be on the way
How the Guinness Brewery Invented the Most Important Statistical Method in Science
The most common test of statistical significance originated from the Guinness brewery. Here’s how it works
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The Mathematical Case for Monkeys Producing Shakespeare—Eventually
An infinite number of random events can produce just about anything if you have quintillions of years to wait
Mathematicians Explain Why Some Lengths Can’t Be Measured
Can you assign a size to every object? The surprising answer is no
Mathematician Who Tamed Randomness Wins Abel Prize
Michel Talagrand innovative work has allowed others to tackle problems involving random processes
Do the Digits of Pi Actually Contain All of Shakespeare?
If pi is a “normal” number, the constant would contain much more than Shakespeare, resolving why such a random-looking number lives at the heart of simple circles
The Simplest Math Problem Could Be Unsolvable
The Collatz conjecture has plagued mathematicians for decades—so much so that professors warn their students away from it
How a Classic Bridge-Crossing Puzzle Inspired New Math
Are you smarter than an 18th-century Prussian?
The Decimal Point Is 150 Years Older than Historians Thought
The origin of the decimal point, a powerful calculation tool, has been traced back to a mathematician who lived during the Italian Renaissance
The Strangely Serious Implications of Math’s ‘Ham Sandwich Theorem’
A simple solution to gerrymandering crumbles when confronted with math’s “ham sandwich theorem”
Secret Mathematical Patterns Revealed in Bach’s Music
Physicists found that the music of Johann Sebastian Bach contains mathematical patterns that help convey information
Surreal Numbers Are a Real Thing. Here’s How to Make Them
In the 1970s mathematicians found a simple way to create all numbers, from the infinitely small to infinitely large