The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Imagine a town with two widget merchants. Customers prefer cheaper widgets, so the merchants must compete to set the lowest price.

Abstract: The role of differential equations (DEs) in science and engineering is of paramount importance, as they provide the mathematical framework for a multitude of natural phenomena. Since quantum ...

All of modern mathematics is built on the foundation of set theory, the study of how to organize abstract collections of objects. But in general, research mathematicians don’t need to think about it ...

Quantum computers are coming. And when they arrive, they are going to upend the way we protect sensitive data. Unlike classical computers, quantum computers harness quantum mechanical effects — like ...

I was reviewing the code for the DDA algorithm (found in graphics/digital_differential_analyzer_line.py). The current docstring is very minimal. It only says: Draws a ...