Several fields of mathematics have developed in total isolation, using their own 'undecipherable' coded languages. Mathematicians now present 'big algebras,' a two-way mathematical 'dictionary' ...

Every pure mathematician has experienced that awkward moment when asked, “So what’s your research good for?” There are standard responses: a proud “Nothing!”; an explanation that mathematical research ...

Lashi Bandara is affiliated with Australian National University. These are questions I’m often confronted with when people discover I do pure mathematics. I always manage to provide an answer but it ...

When it comes to teaching mathematical concepts, abstract formulas may be more effective than the familiar examples of speeding trains and tossed coins favored by algebra instructors, according to a ...

Students who make relevant arm movements while learning can improve their knowledge and retention of math, research has shown. Now researchers at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, and the ...

If someone calls you a zero, you know it’s a diss without even having to think about it. You know right away that it means they think you’re nothing, smaller than any number. But humans aren’t the ...

To the editor: The piece by Jo Boaler and Steven D. Levitt reveals a blinkered view of what mathematics is and how it gets used in real-life problems such as data analysis. Data analysis and ...

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? I wanted to be a mathematician, a pianist, a pastry chef, a newsreader, a Blue Peter presenter, be on a TV cooking show, be in a shampoo advert. I ...