mathematics

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World Subways Evolving Into 'Master Form'

Are we driven unconsciously toward same organizational pattern?

(Newser) - In a weird convergence of form following function, the world's subway systems are marching toward a kind of "unified theory" of structure for the complex operations. The route patterns seem intuitively logical, but they have developed across different cultures, in different geographies and economies, and often piecemeal over...

Teacher Bias Hurts Girls in Math
 Teacher Bias Hurts 
 Girls in Math 
study says
Apr 9, 2012 4:26 PM CDT

Teacher Bias Hurts Girls in Math

University of Texas study: Teachers give girls unfair ratings

(Newser) - White girls can't add? According to a national survey, high school teachers rate the math skills of white girls as being lower than those of white boys, even when their test scores are comparable, LiveScience reports. Calling the bias "relatively small in magnitude," two researchers at the...

How This Woman Changed Physics

Emmy Noether may be obscure, but her work was revolutionary

(Newser) - Her work may be the "backbone" of all modern physics; her key theorem could be as important as the theory of relativity; yet hardly anyone knows who Emmy Noether is. Celebrating her 130th birthday this month, Noether has suffered what the New York Times calls "chronic neglect"—...

Girls, Boys Equals at Math
 Girls, Boys Equals at Math 
study says
Dec 13, 2011 12:17 PM CST

Girls, Boys Equals at Math

Perceived differences a matter of culture, not biology: study

(Newser) - Cross another stereotype off the list: Any differences between men's and women's math abilities are cultural, not innate, a study finds. Studies that have suggested such differences covered too few countries to give an accurate picture, researchers say. The new study, however, reviewed math scores across 86 countries,...

Mathematician Calculates Pi to 10T Digits

Breaks own previous record of 5T digits

(Newser) - A Japanese man used his homemade computer to calculate the value of pi to 10 trillion digits, breaking the 5-trillion-digit record he himself set last August . Systems engineer Shigeru Kondo, 56, started crunching the numbers on a computer using a 48-terabyte hard drive in October and finished Sunday, the Telegraph...

Board Your Flight in Half the Time—Using Science

Fermilab physicist devises more efficient way onto airplanes

(Newser) - Airplane boarding for most of us is one of those dreary, inefficient indignities we are forced to endure as part of modern travel. But for Fermilab astrophysicist Jason Steffen, it was just another problem to solve. After much experimentation, he used the Monte Carlo method of optimization to came up...

Forget Pi, Here Comes Tau
 Forget Pi, 
 Here Comes Tau 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 2, 2011 1:30 PM CDT

Forget Pi, Here Comes Tau

Using a new constant would simplify things, say experts

(Newser) - You don't need to be a mathematician to appreciate pi: Children everywhere can tell you it's 3.14, and it's even celebrated on 3-14. But now experts are arguing that pi, which references the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, be replaced with a...

Second-Grade Girls Already Bailing on Math

Study finds stereotype reaches kids strikingly early

(Newser) - A disturbingly high proportion of little girls have absorbed the stereotype that math is for boys by the time they reach the second grade, a new study finds. Researchers found that little boys and girls alike tend to associate enjoyment of math with boys, MSNBC reports. "We still don’...

Religion Going Way of the Dodo, Says Math Team

 Religion to Die Out in 9 Nations 
say math researchers
Mar 22, 2011 5:00 AM CDT

Religion to Die Out in 9 Nations

Mathematical model points to extinction in Australia, Austria, Ireland

(Newser) - Religion is bound for extinction in nine nations where it's already in decline, according to researchers using mathematical models. The researchers applied the principle of "nonlinear dynamics" to census data from the countries—Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland—and predicted...

Secret Musical Message Found in Plato

Philosopher was closet supporter of Pythagoras

(Newser) - Plato embedded in his writings secret messages that would have earned him execution for heresy, says a scholar who claims to have found a hidden code in the original scroll form of the ancient Greek philosopher's writings. Exactly once every 12 lines Plato refers to music—a message, says scholar...

Math Genius Turned Down $1M Prize 'Because It's Unfair'

Grigory Perelman finally explains

(Newser) - The reclusive Russian genius who solved one of math's most baffling problems has finally explained why he doesn't want the cool million that he won for doing so: It's just not fair. Grigory Perelman, who refused to speak to reporters camped outside his roach-infested St. Petersburg flat after his feat...

Math Genius Turns Down $1M Prize
Math Genius Turns Down
$1M Prize
Mar 24, 2010 10:03 AM CDT

Math Genius Turns Down $1M Prize

Reclusive Grigory Perelman refuses to explain himself

(Newser) - Grigory Perelman has solved one of math’s most intractable problems, a century-old puzzle that carries a $1 million prize. There’s just one problem: Perelman doesn’t want the money, and he won’t say why. He won’t say anything, in fact. Ever since the Clay Mathematics Institute...

Number Nerds + Pi Day = Big Geek Fun
Number Nerds + Pi Day =
Big Geek Fun
3.14159
Mar 14, 2010 1:59 PM CDT

Number Nerds + Pi Day = Big Geek Fun

Eat some pie, write a 'pi-ku,' and wish Albert Einstein a happy birthday

(Newser) - Today is 3/14, better known to the math-loving community as Pi Day, an international celebration of the irrational number and, for some, its almost-namesake dessert. In honor of the occasion, the iconic logo on the Google homepage has transformed into a collection of formulas that use pi. To celebrate, write...

Girls Learn Math Anxiety From Female Teachers

Instructors transfer bias to students

(Newser) - Girls who buy into the stereotype that boys are better at math may be learning the trait from their own female teachers. Female first-and second-grade teachers worried about their math skills transfer that anxiety onto girls in their classrooms, a new study suggests. Those teachers were more likely to believe...

Scientists 'Tie Light in Knots'
 Scientists 'Tie Light in Knots' 
Jan 18, 2010 10:30 AM CST

Scientists 'Tie Light in Knots'

Breakthrough could lead to more precise lasers, traffic speed guns

(Newser) - A team of physicists say they’ve managed to “tie light in knots” using holograms and abstract mathematics. The breakthrough could have a host of practical applications, including more precise lasers and traffic speed guns. It’s also the first physical application of “knot theory,” a branch...

Scientist Smashes Pi Record
 Scientist Smashes Pi Record 
3.14159265...
Jan 7, 2010 2:38 PM CST

Scientist Smashes Pi Record

He calculates number to 2.7 trillion digits on his home PC

(Newser) - A French scientist shattered the record for calculated digits of Pi, working the number out to 2.7 trillion decimal places—and he did it with a home PC. Fabrice Bellard beat the previous record by 100 billion digits, using a new software algorithm he claims is 20 times faster...

200-Year-Old Presidential Code Cracked

Mathematician unravels cipher that stumped Jefferson

(Newser) - A code that stumped Thomas Jefferson and other cryptologists for over two centuries has finally been cracked, the Wall Street Journal reports. The cipher—sent to Jefferson in 1801 by mathematician Robert Patterson as an example of the perfect code—piqued the interest of defense cryptologist Lawren Smithline, who tackled...

Spooky Universal Pattern Captivates Math Experts

Academics ponder similarities between cities and organisms

(Newser) - A fascinating mathematical similarity between infrastructure requirements of cities and the nutritional needs of different-sized animals has energized a field of study that is enthralling academics. Researchers have discovered that any measure of a city's infrastructure—from number of gas stations to miles of roadway—grows only in proportion to...

Gum Chewing = Math Smarts: Study

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered that gum-chewing students perform better at math, the Los Angeles Times reports. A study, sponsored by the Wrigley Science Institute, showed that young scholars who chomped on gum while attending math class, doing homework, and taking tests score 3% higher on tests after 14 weeks. Teachers found...

Counting Chicks Redefine Birdbrain

Study shows chickens can do basic math

(Newser) - No dumb clucks, young chickens appear capable of basic arithmetic, Discover reports. Scientists relied on two innate chick traits—an instinct to flock with the biggest group and an attachment to objects—to test the birds’ noggins. After hiding yellow balls of varying numbers behind screens, they released the chicks....

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