Articles

When things get weird with infinite sums

What is 1-1+1-1+1-1+...? How infinite sums challenge our notion of arithmetic.

Mathematical mysteries: Hailstone sequences

Here's an easy game that leads you straight to an unsolved question in maths.

Writing the unwritable: up-arrow notation

How to write down unimaginably large numbers using just a few symbols.

The Sun, the Moon and trigonometry

A little trig helps to find the relative distance to the Sun and Moon.

In the beginning…

Bob Wald tells us why probabilities are important in cosmology.

Ebola: Evidence from numbers

Why maths is an important tool in the fight against Ebola.

So you think you can add up?

Why do we add fractions the way we do? A very close look at addition reveals the answer — and it also works for negative numbers.

Outer space: Where to stand to look at statues

John D. Barrow tells us how to get the best view!

Solving quadratics in pictures

How to derive the famous quadratic formula from pictures, just like the Babylonians did.

Maths in a minute: Euclid's fourth axiom

Euclid's fourth axiom says that all right angles are equal. But isn't that obvious?

Maths in a minute: Euclid's axioms

Five basic facts from the father of geometry.

How many melodies are there?

Given there's a finite number of notes on a scale, can we still find a brand new melody? Perhaps they've all been written already!