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Parents' fear of math linked to lower achievement in children

Mathematics anxiety is a feeling of tension and fear when dealing with numbers or performing calculations. It is a common form of academic anxiety: according to an OECD report, around 40% of students feel nervous, helpless ...

Quantum statistical approach quiets big, noisy data

Big data has gotten too big. Now, a research team with statisticians from Cornell has developed a data representation method inspired by quantum mechanics that handles large data sets more efficiently than traditional methods ...

Megastudy finds a simple way to boost math progress

American students have been falling behind in math for decades—with test scores that consistently rank in the bottom 25% globally compared to students in other developed countries—and the COVID-19 pandemic made the situation ...

Dudeney's 120-year-old dissection puzzle solution proves optimal

In 1907, the English author and mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney posed a puzzle: Can any equilateral triangle be cut into as few pieces as possible that will fit together to form a perfect square? Four weeks later, he presented ...

Nessie loves a sunny summer's day—how anecdotes become data

New research from the University of St Andrews has used a database of Loch Ness Monster reports to translate anecdotes into data, shedding light on statistical biases and the importance of defining the right information for ...

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Mathematics
From slime molds to corporations, traveling networks chart a new path
Mathematics
What's the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study its shape and everything in it
Mathematics
Mathematicians introduce crossing matrices to decode doubly periodic weaves
Mathematics
Model suggests voter turnout alone can predict election victory margins
Mathematics
AI program plays the long game to solve decades-old math problems
Mathematics
Can math save content creators? A new model proposes fairer revenue distribution methods for streaming services
Mathematics
Scientists analyze branch patterns in trees and art, from da Vinci to Mondrian
Mathematics
Risk it or kick it? Research analyzes NFL coaches' risk tolerance on fourth down
Mathematics
The butterfly effect: This obscure mathematical concept has become an everyday idea, but do we have it all wrong?
Mathematics
Spanish 'running of the bulls' festival reveals crowd movements can be predictable, above a certain density
Mathematics
Kids use different math skills at work vs. school, India study shows
Mathematics
Barbecue grill approach helps researchers understand puzzling Rayleigh–Bloch waves
Mathematics
Parents' math anxiety linked to lower numeracy skills in children
Mathematics
Scientists map the mathematics behind how we create and innovate
Mathematics
Simple mathematical model predicts development of cultural structures observed in human societies
Mathematics
Art analysis: 2D multifractal tools examine Jackson Pollock's expressionism
Mathematics
Mathematical technique 'opens the black box' of AI decision-making
Mathematics
English children lag behind in geometry, but parents can help them learn through play
Mathematics
Mathematicians develop new method to forecast natural phenomena and detect early cancer development
Mathematics
Historian explains how economics research stumbled under Soviet regime, while mathematics thrived

Other news

Earth Sciences
Life recovered rapidly at site of dino-killing asteroid. A hydrothermal system may have helped
Astronomy
Researcher proposes first-time model that replaces dark energy and dark matter in explaining nature of the universe
Evolution
Ancient fossil sheds big light on evolution enigma, solving a 100-year arthropod mystery
General Physics
Frustration incorporated: How mismatched geometries can enhance material strength and toughness
Plants & Animals
New research finds fluorescence in feathers of Long-eared Owls
Earth Sciences
Computer simulations suggest CO₂ can be stored underground indefinitely
Archaeology
In Guatemala, painted altar found at Tikal adds new context to mysterious Maya history
Biotechnology
From social to biological networks: New algorithm uncovers key proteins in human disease
Ecology
Study finds evidence that prehistoric rhinos lived in huge herds
Earth Sciences
Using orbital cycles to understand early life
Plants & Animals
Predicting animal movements under global change
Cell & Microbiology
A simple animal's response to sickness highlights the nervous system's surprising degree of flexibility
Paleontology & Fossils
Scientists shed light on life and times of 'Fiona' the pregnant ichthyosaur
Ecology
Farmers brought fish up the mountains of Europe as early as the 7th century, ancient DNA reveals
Cell & Microbiology
Sperm don't just swim, they screw their way forward
Archaeology
Tutankhamun: Plain-looking mud trays in pharaoh's tomb may have been key part of complex afterlife rituals
Astronomy
Observations explore the persistent nature of X-ray binary 4U 0728-25
Nanomaterials
Water filter with nanoscale channels selectively removes stubborn 'forever chemicals'
Plants & Animals
Nurturing mothers help baby monkeys recognize key facial expressions
Quantum Physics
A new dissipation-based method to probe quantum correlations

The myth of the 'math person'

In the 1970s, Sheila Tobias noticed something peculiar going on in mathematics. In one of her early studies, the graduate of Radcliffe College, self-described "scholar activist," and author of 14 books, including the 1978 ...

How math can help the BBC with impartial reporting

In her keynote MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August, former BBC presenter Emily Maitlis spoke of her misgivings about the way the UK's public broadcaster interpreted the corporation's ...

Studying complex criminal networks with new statistical tools

The word "network" has become part of our everyday language, in particular since the rise of online social networks. However, human interactions are not only aimed at sociability and fun. Criminals also interact with each ...

Perturbing the Bernoulli shift map in binary systems

Is it possible for a deterministic system to be unpredictable? Although counter-intuitive, the answer is yes. Such systems are called "chaotic systems," which are characterized by sensitive dependence on initial conditions ...

Mathematicians explain how some fireflies flash in sync

Stake out in Pennsylvania's Cook State Forest at the right time of year and you can see one of nature's great light shows: swarms of fireflies that synchronize their flashes like strings of Christmas lights in the dark.