Articles

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Stubborn equations and the study of symmetry

An impossible equation, two tragic heroes and the mathematical study of symmetry.
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All's fair in love and maths

The bitter battle for the cubic equation.
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Meet the hyperbola

It might not be as familiar as the circle or parabola, but it's definitely worth getting to know the hyperbola!
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Five Martin Gardner eye-openers involving squares and cubes

This week would have been the 100th birthday of Martin Gardner, who is deservedly credited with turning on several generations of people worldwide to the pleasures of maths! To mark the occasion here are some favourite puzzles that, apart from being fun, also lead to some serious maths.
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The multiverse: Science or speculation?

If you like to have your mind blown cosmology is a great field to go into. But is it science?
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In a lower dimension

Could the world be simpler than our senses suggest?
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Who made the laws of nature?

What gives an equation the right to call itself a law?
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Constant worries

What makes a number a constant of nature?
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Dreaming the dream

Why cosmologists worry about isolated brains that randomly fluctuate into existence.
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Maths in a minute: Why do mathematicians play games?

Why game theory is a serious business.
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Why does cosmology need philosophy?

George Ellis explains why the study of the cosmos poses some very deep questions.
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Phillip Griffiths: Beauty, truth and being practical

The winner of the 2014 Chern medal tells us about beauty in maths, the twists and turns of mathematical history, and his work for the maths community.