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Mathematics news
'Shallow' sports and 'deep' social hierarchies: Not all pecking orders are created equally
University of Michigan researchers have added a new dimension to the mathematics used to predict the outcomes of all manner of competitions, including sports, games and social hierarchies in both humans and animals.
Mathematics
9 hours ago
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Probability training: Preventing errors of reasoning in medicine and law
How trustworthy is a positive HIV test result? How probable is an actual infection when the test is positive? Even professionals often get such questions wrong, which can lead to misdiagnoses and unnecessary surgeries.
Mathematics
10 hours ago
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Hard in theory, easy in practice: Why graph isomorphism algorithms seem to be so effective
Graphs are everywhere. In discrete mathematics, they are structures that show the connections between points, much like a public transportation network. Mathematicians have long sought to develop algorithms that can compare ...
Mathematics
12 hours ago
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New framework uses games of chance to put 'price' on intangible assets
A new statistical model could help to address the age-old question of how to price non-physical, intangible goods like data, say scientists.
Mathematics
13 hours ago
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Misinformation really does spread like a virus, according to mathematical models drawn from epidemiology
We're increasingly aware of how misinformation can influence elections. About 73% of Americans report seeing misleading election news, and about half struggle to discern what is true or false.
Mathematics
Nov 5, 2024
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Using mathematics to better understand cause and effect
Cause and effect. We understand this concept from an early age. Tug on a pull toy's string, and the toy follows. Naturally, things get much more complicated as a system grows, as the number of variables increases, and as ...
Mathematics
Nov 1, 2024
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Typing monkey would be unable to produce 'Hamlet' within the lifetime of the universe, study finds
A new study reveals it would take far longer than the lifespan of our universe for a typing monkey to randomly produce Shakespeare. So, while the Infinite Monkey Theorem is true, it is also somewhat misleading.
Mathematics
Oct 30, 2024
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US math teachers view student performance differently based on race and gender
Teachers report thinking that if girls do better in math than boys, it is probably because of their innate ability and effort. But they also report that when boys do well in math, it is more likely due to parental support ...
Mathematics
Oct 28, 2024
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High school students present five new ways of proving Pythagoras' Theorem via trigonometry
In 2022, U.S. high school students Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson astonished teachers when they discovered a new way to prove Pythagoras' theorem using trigonometry after entering a competition at their local high school. ...
Mathematics
Oct 28, 2024
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256
From fireflies to drones: Researchers uncover strategy for synchronization efficiency
Researchers from The University of New Mexico School of Engineering looked to the natural world to explain how synchronized systems can work more efficiently and made a significant discovery. Their results were published ...
Mathematics
Oct 25, 2024
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New theory identifies how physics principle of 'rattling' relates to self-organization
If you've ever watched a large flock of birds on the wing, moving across the sky like a cloud with various shapes and directional changes appearing from seeming chaos, or the maneuvers of an ant colony forming bridges and ...
Mathematics
Oct 23, 2024
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Why Trump's messaging is becoming more extreme: A mathematician explains
"Talk about extreme." That was the response of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris at September's televised debate, after her rival, Donald Trump, made the baseless claim that migrants had been eating the dogs and ...
Mathematics
Oct 23, 2024
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Photonic computing method uses electromagnetic waves to rapidly solve partial differential equations
In the fields of physics, mathematics, and engineering, partial differential equations (PDEs) are essential for modeling various phenomena, from heat diffusion to particle motion and wave propagation. While some PDEs can ...
Mathematics
Oct 21, 2024
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Three letters, one number, a knife and a stone bridge: How a graffitied equation changed mathematical history
On October 16, 1843, the Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton had an epiphany during a walk alongside Dublin's Royal Canal. He was so excited he took out his penknife and carved his discovery right then and there on ...
Mathematics
Oct 16, 2024
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In double breakthrough, mathematician helps solve two long-standing problems
A Rutgers University-New Brunswick professor who has devoted his career to resolving the mysteries of higher mathematics has solved two separate, fundamental problems that have perplexed mathematicians for decades.
Mathematics
Oct 9, 2024
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Are ideas contagious? How the structure of human-interaction networks affects spread of both illness and information
The COVID-19 pandemic gave the global medical community the opportunity to take giant strides forward in understanding how to develop vaccines and implement public health measures designed to control the spread of disease, ...
Mathematics
Oct 9, 2024
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Team presents new theoretical strategy for generating asymmetric distributions in probability and statistics
As is well known, the normal distribution is a key tool in probability and statistics. It can be described as a distribution that obeys a universal rule derived from one of the most important theorems in probability: the ...
Mathematics
Oct 8, 2024
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How higher-order interactions can remodel the landscape of complex systems
Networks, which include nodes and connections, can help researchers model dynamic systems like the spread of disease or how the brain processes information.
Mathematics
Oct 2, 2024
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Want to solve a complex problem? Applied math can help
You can probably think of a time when you've used math to solve an everyday problem, such as calculating a tip at a restaurant or determining the square footage of a room. But what role does math play in solving complex problems ...
Mathematics
Oct 1, 2024
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A method of 'look twice, forgive once' can sustain social cooperation
The theory of indirect reciprocity holds that people who earn a good reputation by helping others are more likely to be rewarded by third parties, but widespread cooperation depends on agreement about reputations.
Mathematics
Sep 26, 2024
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