It’s surprisingly difficult to prove one of the most basic properties of a number: whether it can be written as a fraction. A broad new method can help settle this ancient question. In June 1978, the ...

In a series of papers posted online in recent weeks, mathematicians have solved a problem about the pattern-matching card game Set that predates the game itself. The solution, whose simplicity has ...

Research Fellow in Mathematical Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine When we go to the cinema, we expect certain things of big-screen scientists. Most of us will get annoyed if a ...

If √2 is rational, one can construct an isosceles right triangle of minimal integer side lengths. This implies that the hypotenuse is even, leading to a contradiction of the minimality. Journal ...

You think writing proofs for algebra during high school was hard? Think again. A trio of brilliant mathematicians just solved a decade-old puzzle and consequently produced the world's largest ...