Mathematics

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 disappear. No one had ever collected them […]

People often solve simple arithmetic problems, such as basic addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, in their minds. The precise mental processes they rely on to solve these problems, however, are not entirely clear. Researchers at […]

Recently, a cheerful 100-year-old message in a bottle was found on the south-west coast of Australia. In it, a World War One soldier proclaimed to be “as happy as Larry.”This post was originally published on […]

A University of Houston researcher and his collaborators have developed a mathematical model that helps identify whether a competitive environment is healthy, stagnant or skewed. Published in the journal npj Complexity, the study led by […]

Many drivers will know the feeling: you pull ahead of the slower car you’ve been stuck behind and cruise the open road ahead at your own, faster speed. By the time you reach the next […]

Many people have likely found themselves watching oddly satisfying videos of random objects being squashed by a powerful hydraulic press, but rarely do people consider why things squash the way they do. One object that […]

When you go out to run errands on the weekend, you’re on a “tour” as defined by human mobility researchers. Same if you book a guided tour of a famous city or take a trip […]

When we learn something new, that information does not exist in isolation. It integrates into the complex landscape of our knowledge, forging connections with existing ideas and opening up possibilities for new learning. In a […]

Trying to persuade people to abandon deeply held views often backfires, leaving groups entrenched and unable to move forward. A new study by researchers at the University of Bath in the UK proposes a strategy […]

Fashion insiders and beauty magazines have long cited the “20-year-rule”—the idea that clothing trends often resurface every two decades. According to Northwestern University scientists, that observation isn’t just anecdotal. It’s a mathematical reality.This post was […]