Article

Mathematical mysteries: The Barber's Paradox

Suppose you walk past a barber's shop one day, and see a sign that says "Do you shave yourself? If not, come in and I'll shave you! I shave anyone who does not shave himself, and noone else." This seems fair enough, and fairly simple, until, a little later, the following question occurs to you - does the barber shave himself?
Article
infinite series of surprises

An infinite series of surprises

Infinite series occupy a central and important place in mathematics. C. J. Sangwin shows us how eighteenth-century mathematician Leonhard Euler solved one of the foremost infinite series problems of his day.

Article
Tchokwe pictogram

New designs from Africa

Paulus Gerdes takes us on a tour of the mathematical properties of some beautiful designs inspired by the traditional art of Angolan tribespeople.

Article

Roger Penrose: A Knight on the tiles

Will we ever be able to make computers that think and feel? If not, why not? And what has all this got to do with tiles? Plus talks to Sir Roger Penrose about all this and more.
Article

No place like home for Martin Rees

Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees gives Plus a whistlestop tour of some of the more extraordinary features of our cosmos, and explains how lucky we are that the universe is the way it is.
Article
icon

Looking at life with Gerardus 't Hooft

Nobel Prizewinning Physicist Professor Gerardus 't Hooft has always been fascinated by the mathematical mysteries of nature. He tells Plus about his early life, and what our Universe might really be like.