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Mathematics news
What is a p‑value? Expert explains the most misunderstood number in science
If you've ever tried to read a scientific paper, you've almost certainly run into a p-value. And if you found it confusing, you're in good company: Plenty of working scientists misunderstand it too.
Mathematics
Jul 29, 2026
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45
Research cautions that sometimes working together can actually spur inequality
Encouraging people to contribute to a common good can have a surprising drawback: a risk that rewards become concentrated among a smaller group, putting the rest at a disadvantage. Put more simply, "equality and cooperation ...
Mathematics
Jul 27, 2026
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8
A new 'golden age' of mathematics may be dawning, thanks to AI and human ingenuity
In May 2026, OpenAI released a new math result that sent shock waves throughout the world of mathematical research. A major unsolved problem called the "unit distance conjecture" had just been resolved by generative AI.
Mathematics
Jul 23, 2026
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48
Fields medal awarded to four young mathematicians
The world of mathematics handed out its most prestigious awards Thursday at a unique moment for the field, as it faces pressure from AI's potential to outpace human calculation.
Mathematics
Jul 23, 2026
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144
Why a tiny social media post has mathematicians rethinking AI
As millions of people were coming down from the excitement of the FIFA World Cup final at the start of this week, a different kind of excitement was building within the mathematical community. Levent Alpöge, a mathematician ...
Mathematics
Jul 22, 2026
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922
Gig platforms can simply 'wait out' workers to slash wages, research reveals
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), the Tübingen AI Center and Ellis Institute Tübingen have conducted a study that uncovers a mathematical strategy explaining how digital labor platforms ...
Mathematics
Jul 21, 2026
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19
Study could help event organizers prevent crowd crushes and stampedes
McGill researchers have found that dangerous crowd conditions leading to surges and stampedes may not emerge suddenly but instead develop gradually, as repeated physical contact and pushing accumulate and become synchronized ...
Mathematics
Jul 20, 2026
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6
AI may not make us stupid, but relying on it could weaken the skills built through practice
The worry of becoming stupid isn't new; it dates back to the time of the Greek philosopher Socrates, who insisted that writing would destroy memory and weaken the mind. Then came calculators, GPS and computers, all of which ...
Statistical method broadens forecasts by modeling uncertainty beyond average outcomes
When it comes to statistics, we usually expect to be informed about what happens "on average." But sometimes the key information lies in deviations from that mean: how likely is heavy rain, and how likely is it to remain ...
Mathematics
Jul 16, 2026
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10
Statistical test helps judge the value of personalization
From precision medicine to personalized job training, customizing interventions for individuals is often assumed to produce better outcomes than a one-size-fits-all approach. But personalization also comes with costs: it ...
Mathematics
Jul 14, 2026
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7
Researchers develop AI tool that finds the equations behind complex systems
Clarkson University researchers have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can uncover the mathematical equations governing complex and chaotic systems directly from data. The technology, called KANDy—short for Kolmogorov-Arnold ...
Mathematics
Jul 7, 2026
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78
Free-text answers and LLMs reveal hidden reasons behind human choices
Why do people make the choices they do? Researchers from the Center Synergy of Systems (SynoSys) at TUD Dresden University of Technology, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, and the University of Basel present ...
Mathematics
Jul 3, 2026
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42
Visual map of 20,000 words reveals why lip-readers confuse common look-alikes
New research from the University of Kansas uses network science to determine why people make mistakes when lip-reading. Michael Vitevitch, professor of speech-language-hearing at KU, and his co-authors created a visual map ...
Mathematics
Jul 3, 2026
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13
Why shorter lists win: Researchers study how people misread rankings
Math is great when it's simple, but then our brain gets involved and complicates everything. Imagine you are on the leadership team for a Big 4 and choosing between two employees for a director-level promotion. One is ranked ...
Mathematics
Jul 2, 2026
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10
Physicists and AI model Claude 'collaborate' to prove a 10-year-old jamming conjecture
A mathematical problem that had remained unsolved for more than 10 years in the physics of complex systems has finally been resolved through an unusual collaboration: one involving two theoretical physicists and an artificial ...
Mathematics
Jul 1, 2026
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113
World Cup research reveals strategy to give teams a penalty-shootout edge
One of football's most iconic moments—the penalty shootout—may be far more strategic than previously thought, with new research challenging the notion that the team kicking first holds a major advantage.
Mathematics
Jun 30, 2026
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29
Mathematicians unleash multifold speed boost for supercomputer simulations of molecules
More than 20% of the workload on the world's 500 fastest supercomputers is spent simulating how atoms and molecules move—with applications ranging from material design to identifying drug interactions to understanding protein ...
Mathematics
Jun 24, 2026
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95
How languages recycle parts of words to avoid confusion
Many languages recycle words, giving them different meanings. For example, in English, "run" can mean to move quickly but also to manage something, like "run a company." In Spanish, "lengua" is both the word for tongue and ...
New Zealand scientists working on 'R' win major global award
Scientists working on the revolutionary 'R' programming language invented at the University of Auckland have won a top award intended to be a Nobel Prize for statisticians.
Mathematics
Jun 19, 2026
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133
S-M-A-R-T! These researchers used math to crack Wordle
Every day, millions of people play Wordle, the popular New York Times game that challenges users to guess a secret five-letter word. Using information theory, a team of researchers at Binghamton University, State University ...
Mathematics
Jun 17, 2026
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20
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Tiny sugar chains act as brakes to control calcium and sodium flow in lysosomes
