Today, people use complex computing networks to search for prime numbers with millions of digits. But early mathematicians were running these calculations by hand.
Articles on History of mathematics
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Why ‘sensitive dependence on initial conditions’ makes predicting the future so hard.
In 1843, William Rowan Hamilton had a four-dimensional flash of insight that still shapes our three-dimensional world.
André Weil was a mathematician. His sister Simone Weil was a philosopher. They both thought deeply about the nature and value of mathematics and mathematics education.
This is a story about geometry, algebra and many different dimensions, best read with construction paper, scissors and tape on hand.
How did the letter x get its enduring role as a symbol of the unknown? A mathematician explains why it’s hard to say for sure.
Discover the stories of five trailblazing women – Tharp, Nice, Tu, Noether and Wu – who worked in STEM during the 20th century.
A look at the many systems of measurement that have been lost and changed throughout history.
More than a century after publishing major papers in theoretical mathematics, German-born Emmy Noether continues to challenge and inspire mathematicians with her story and mathematical legacy.
What did Pythagoras do with all those triangles, anyway?
Mathematicians have known how to solve something called an S-unit equation for several years. However, the process is so convoluted that few can actually use it to tackle their problems.
The inventor of the brain-teasing Möbius strip died 150 years ago, but his creation continues to spawn new ideas in mathematics.
A 3,700-year old Babylonian clay tablet reveals an ancient method of constructing right-angled triangles that makes it the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table.
Top contributors
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PhD Candidate in Mathematics, Rutgers University
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Senior lecturer, UNSW
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Associate Professor in Mathematics, UNSW
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Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University
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Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society, Rochester Institute of Technology
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Assistant Professor of Chinese, Emory University
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Assistant Professor of Mathematics, University of Pennsylvania
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Senior Lecturer in Economic History, University of Manchester
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Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, Middlebury College
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Assistant Professor of Physics, Rutgers University - Newark
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Ph.D. Candidate in Mathematics, University of Pennsylvania
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Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Wesleyan University
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Associate Professor of Mathematics, Wesleyan University
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Professor of Mathematics, Colby College
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Affiliate, School of Mathematics, Monash University