Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite within reach. In 2012, the mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki claimed he had solved the abc conjecture ...

If pure math can teach us anything, it’s this: occasionally, your special interest might just change the world. For Joshua Zahl and Hong Wang, that special interest was the Kakeya conjecture. “I read ...

Last June 23 marked the 25th anniversary of the electrifying announcement by Andrew Wiles that he had proved Fermat’s Last Theorem, solving a 350-year-old problem, the most famous in mathematics. The ...

This is an updated version of a story first published on May 5, 2024. For many high school students returning to class, it may seem like geometry and trigonometry were created by the Greeks as a form ...

Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson believe they can prove the Pythagorean Theorem using trigonometry — and are being encouraged to submit their work for peer review Jason Hahn is a former Human ...

The Langlands program has inspired and befuddled mathematicians for more than 50 years. A major advance has now opened up new worlds for them to explore One of the biggest stories in science has been ...

Peter Scholze wants to rebuild much of modern mathematics, starting from one of its cornerstones. Now, he has received validation for a proof at the heart of his quest from an unlikely source: a ...