Here’s a game: Tell a friend to give you any number and you’ll return one that’s bigger. Just add ‘1’ to whatever number they come up with and you’re sure to win.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Numbers
Displaying 1 - 20 of 34 articles
Findings of a study suggest using a ‘hundreds chart’ showing numbers one through 100, beginning with one in the top-left corner, fosters children’s counting by 10s.
After decades of hype, quantum computers are on the verge of becoming useful. Here’s a refresher on why they’re such a big deal
Humans have been making symbols for numbers for thousands of years. Different cultures developed their own symbols, but all use addition and multiplication, suggesting arithmetic is a universal truth.
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.
A sociologist unpacks how common superstitions like fear of 13 can gain steam.
If you cannot communicate a concept clearly, then you don’t understand it well enough yourself.
The brain can count small numbers or compare large ones. But it struggles to understand the value of a single large number. This fact may be influencing how people react to numbers about the pandemic.
Numerology ties in with how our brains work, but that doesn’t mean its claims make sense.
Everyone is raving about Adele’s new album ‘30.’ A mathematician muses about the “Adele sequence”: the patterns of numbers in her album name.
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.
Understanding numbers in the news or social media can empower you to figure out risks and make good choices. Here’s what to look out for to make sure you aren’t misled by COVID-19 coverage.
It’s awfully hard to wrap your mind around a sum that large. But converting it to a more bite-size representation can affect a voter’s willingness to support government spending.
Don’t just tell us how many new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, tell us how many people you tested as well. That helps us to know if things are getting better or worse.
A reduction in OSHA inspectors may lead to a reduction in workplace safety.
Generally speaking, if your English-speaking child is at least six years old by the end of the year, there are some standard things they should know and be able to do.
Honeybees are good at maths, but it was thought they could only count to four. That is, unless you present them with a task in which they are punished with a bitter-tasting drink for getting it wrong.
How mathematically proficient are you? And do you have the skills to back up your level of math confidence? The answers to those questions may have ramifications for your financial and physical health.
The Romans were great engineers but they had a terrible number system. It didn’t even have zero.
To multiply two numbers by hand take a few steps but it’s something we’re taught in school. When dealing with big numbers, really big numbers, we need to a quicker way to do things.
Top contributors
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Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina
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Director, Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon
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Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, Middlebury
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Professor of Linguistics, Yale University
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Acting Director of Research, Reader in Global Development, Newcastle University
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Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Biology, University of Bath
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Professor of Mathematics, University of Florida
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Senior lecturer, UNSW Sydney
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Andrew Carnegie Fellow, Professor of Anthropology, University of Miami
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Professor of Mathematics, Toronto Metropolitan University
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Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Western Michigan University
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Professor of Mathematics, Harvey Mudd College
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Professor of Mathematics, Western Michigan University
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Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Monash University
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Professor, University of Southern Queensland
