Articles

Number crunching antsLiz Newton finds that having a small brain doesn't stop you doing great things.

Fermat's last theorem and Andrew WilesNeil Pieprzak tells the fascinating story of Andrew Wiles who, with intense devotion and in secret, proved a deceptively simple-looking conjecture that had defeated mathematicians for almost 400 years.

If we all go for the blondeJosé-Manuel Rey revisits a scene of the film A beautiful Mind.

Maths on a planePhil Trinh discovers how maths helps solve the mysteries of flight and love.

Understanding uncertainty: The maths of surprisesYou meet an old friend on holiday, you find your colleague shares your birthday, you win the lottery. Exactly how rare are these rare events? David Spiegelhalter investigates in his regular column on uncertainty and risk.

Editorial

I need maths like a carburettor recalibration
The 118 188 challenge

The amazing librarianJosefina Alvarez describes the workings of the most famous search engine of them all. You'll need some linear algebra for this one, but it's worth the while!

Saving lives: the mathematics of tomographyNot so long ago, if you had a medical complaint, doctors had to open you up to see what it was. These days they have a range of sophisticated imaging techniques at their disposal, saving you the risk and pain of an operation. Chris Budd and Cathryn Mitchell look at the maths that isn't only responsible for these medical techniques, but also for much of the digital revolution.

Catching primes The primes are the building blocks of our number system, but there's no general formula that will give you all of them. If you want them, you have to hunt them down one by one. Abigail Kirk investigates a method that does just that.

Beyond MeasureConversations across science and art

Plus Magazine

Understanding uncertainty: The Premier League

This is the second part of our new column on risk and uncertainty. David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, continues examining league tables using the Premier League as an example. Find out just how much — or how little — these simple rankings can tell you.