For more than a century, Srinivasa Ramanujan’s uncanny formulas for the number pi have looked like pure mathematical fireworks, dazzling but detached from the physical world. Now a new wave of ...

Hard problems are usually not a welcome sight. But cryptographers love them. That’s because certain hard math problems underpin the security of modern encryption. Any clever trick for solving them ...

In a weekend in the spring of 2025, a clandestine mathematical conclave convened. Thirty of the world’s most renowned mathematicians traveled to Berkeley, Calif., with some coming from as far away as ...

This is episode three of a three-part series. You can listen to part one here and part two here. If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By ...