Think about placing dots on a flat surface. You want as many pairs as possible to be separated by the same distance. For any amount of dots, what is the greatest possible number of pairs that can be ...

With automated proof-checkers, a problem can be broken up into small chunks, solved bit-by-bit, then reassembled with confidence that every piece is correct. For some, this heralds a new area in ...

As rampant AI use accelerates a crisis in education, University of California professors are pleading with leadership to reinstate college-entrance exams, The Wall Street Journal reports, claiming ...

I love a good road trip, particularly now that things have thawed here in New England. In addition to picking a playlist or downloading an audiobook, I set my GPS to be sure I’m taking the best route.

I am attempting to solve a mathematical conundrum that has stumped many of humanity’s greatest thinkers. I have zero mathematical training, apart from a distant undergraduate physics degree, which ...

A sweeping investigation has revealed widespread fraud in mathematics publishing, where commercial metrics and rankings have incentivized the mass production of meaningless or flawed papers. The study ...

Chalkbeat Ideas is a section featuring reported columns on the big ideas and debates shaping American schools. Sign up for the Ideas newsletter to follow our work. Cecilia Lopez Alvarado was scrolling ...

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Every year, the countries competing in the International Mathematical Olympiad arrive with a booklet of their best, most original problems. Those booklets get shared among delegations, then quietly ...

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, ...

One of the most bitterly contested proofs in modern mathematics may be on the verge of being untangled. Two projects, both aiming to use a computer program to cast new light on the controversy, are ...