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1-dan master of the unyielding fist of Bayesian inference
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Mathematics is, at its core, an art. Like painters, musicians or writers, mathematicians create and explore new worlds. They test, and then push past, the limits of their imagination. They engage with thousands of years of history, with concepts and tastes and fashions that are constantly in flux. This artistic pursuit of beauty, truth and meaning is what every Quanta math story is about…
It in no way reflects my feelings toward Quanta staff writer Charlie Wood that my favorite moment of the year in physics happened when he got seasick this summer aboard a ferry full of physicists on the North Sea. Charlie and hundreds of the world’s top quantum researchers were en route to Helgoland, the island birthplace of quantum mechanics, for a historic conference to mark the theory’s…
In August, a team of mathematicians posted a paper claiming to solve a major problem in algebraic geometry — using entirely alien techniques. It instantly captivated the field, stoking excitement in some mathematicians and skepticism in others. The result deals with polynomial equations, which combine variables raised to powers (like y = x or x2 − 3xy = z2). These equations are some of the…
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