Column

  1. Math

    Shuffling the cards: Math does the trick

    When to stop shuffling depends on the game.

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  2. Science & Society

    Sound reasoning requires statistical understanding

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  3. Math

    Unknotting knot theory

    New techniques are beginning to unravel the mysteries of knots, revealing a great mathematical superstructure in the process.

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  4. Math

    A frustrating view of complexity

    The unifying theme of complex systems, a researcher argues, is frustration.

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  5. Science & Society

    It’s time for addiction science to supersede stigma

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  6. Math

    Counting how votes count

    A rational person will vote, economists show, as an act of altruism.

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  7. 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 […]

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  8. Math

    Rating the rankings

    The U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities are largely arbitrary, according to a new mathematical analysis.

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  9. Math

    Following the ocean swirls

    The mathematics of dynamical systems reveals ocean dynamics, an understanding that could improve the monitoring of ocean processes.

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  10. ‘National Greatness’ versus real national greatness by Frank Wilczek

    From the October 11, 2008 issue of Science News.

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  11. Math

    Largest known prime number found

    The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, a cooperative computing project, helps find a prime that has nearly 13 million digits.

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  12. Math

    A knot of light

    Researchers find a new theoretical way to tie light into complex knots and links.

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