Column
- Math
Florence Nightingale: The passionate statistician
Florence Nightingale pioneered the use of applied statistics to develop policy and developed novel ways of displaying them.
- Space
Debates over definition of planet continue and inspire
Planetary science is in the midst of a revolution. As recently as the early 1990s, “the planets” consisted of just nine famous objects in our solar system that every school kid learned to recognize by name and appearance. But then, advances in astronomical technology unleashed an explosion of new planetary discoveries on two fronts. One […]
- Math
How to (really) trust a mathematical proof
Mathematicians develop computer proof-checking systems in order to realize long-sought dreams of fully precise, accurate mathematics.
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- Math
Unknotting knot theory
New techniques are beginning to unravel the mysteries of knots, revealing a great mathematical superstructure in the process.
- Math
A frustrating view of complexity
The unifying theme of complex systems, a researcher argues, is frustration.
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U.S. must invest in technologies to avoid energy crisis
Steven Chu, director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Nobel laureate in physics, has advocated for energy thrift. During a September visit to Washington, D.C., he spoke with senior editor Janet Raloff about how he believes the United States can tackle what he sees as a looming energy crisis. You’ve said the United States […]
- Math
Rating the rankings
The U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities are largely arbitrary, according to a new mathematical analysis.
- Math
Following the ocean swirls
The mathematics of dynamical systems reveals ocean dynamics, an understanding that could improve the monitoring of ocean processes.
