Articles

icon
Andrew Wiles wins Abel Prize!One of the greatest honours in maths has been awarded for the proof of Fermat's last theorem.
Ping pong balls, infinity and superpowersPlaying with infinity can lead to surprising outcomes – find out how with a big bag of balls and some superpowers.
Chaos from orderHow simples rules can result in very complex outcomes.
Order behind chaosWe all know what symmetry is. But why does it play such a central role in modern physics?
Symmetry making and symmetry breakingA closer look at the power of symmetry in physics.
Laws and disorderCan simple equations really describe the complex world we live in?
Infinite sums and China's demographicsChina has recently revoked its one-child policy. What better occasion to explore the mathematics of population growth with a surprising example.
bayes
Maths in a minute: Bayes' theoremIt would be foolish to ignore evidence. Luckily Bayes' theorem shows us how to take it in into account.
The maths of February 29Find out why leap years exist, why you have to wait 400 years for your birthday pattern to repeat, and why there are so many Fridays falling on a 13th.
What are sigma levels?Find out how scientists, from physicists to geneticists, measure their confidence in their results.
icon
It from bit?Does reality arise from information? What does this even mean? Anton Zeilinger explains the impact of John Wheeler's radical idea.
Inferring the Limits on RealityThe fuzziness of the quantum realm could arise from mathematical restrictions on what can ever be known.