Math
A human set a new mathematical record. Then AI came for it
OpenAI is at the center of another controversy over machines tackling big math problems. This one’s about the twin prime conjecture.
Math
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Math
- Plants
Chinese money plant leaves hide a mathematical pattern
Tiny water-secreting pores appear to organize the major veins of the plant leaves into an arrangement known as a Voronoi diagram.
- Physics
Here’s what would happen if you tried to break a photon in half
A mathematical model shows that attempting to sever a fundamental particle of light could conjure new ones out of thin air.
- Math
AI cracked an Erdős math problem. Now experts want guardrails
The result is correct but challenges core norms of mathematics: checking proofs, crediting ideas and keeping research open to everyone.
- Math
The math of choosing a restaurant meal is revealed in Richard Feynman’s notes
Physicist Richard Feynman turned a lunch dilemma into a math problem. Researchers finally cracked his notes and found people approximate his solution on their own.
- Math
Here’s how to make an origami torus with the fewest folds possible
A mathematician found the most efficient way to fold paper into a doughnutlike shape.
- Math
Jazz and classical music have become simpler, a new study finds
Mathematical analysis suggests that melodies and harmonies have become less complex as music evolves and musicians find new ways “to create great music.”
- Particle Physics
To understand black holes, physicists turn to a mathematical ‘Rosetta stone’
A link between particle physics and gravity equations, called the double copy, applies to Hawking radiation, creating a new way into black hole puzzles.
- Math
The Proof in the Code traces efforts to digitally verify mathematical truths
Journalist Kevin Hartnett chronicles how code-checking tools and AI are being used to tackle difficult math problems.
- Math
Math long resisted a digital disruption. AI is poised to change that
The painstaking process of formalization to verify proofs is starting to surge thanks to AI. That could radically change the way people do math.
