Sometimes statistics and probability can produce unexpected or counter-intuitive results. If we’re hoping to use numbers to make good decisions, we should be wary of the traps.
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Articles on Mathematics
Displaying 301 - 320 of 544 articles
For 30 years, sports fans have been told to forget about streaks because the ‘hot hand’ is a fallacy. But a reanalysis says not so fast: Statistics show players really are in the zone sometimes.
Is Trump up or down? Will the public vote yes or no? Who will win the election? A mathematician’s guide to understanding polls in the media.
New research shows programmes to widen STEM participation in students are failing.
The 2016 election made clear that the Electoral College does not weigh votes from all states equally. A new analysis suggests the power of your vote is closely linked to voter turnout in your state.
It’s March 14, the day we irrationally celebrate the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Here’s a roundup from our archive of what we know about pi.
Maths is often a quiet contributor to problems in subjects like biology.
When is a pack of cards truly random?
Are you sceptical about maths being stunning? Let this brave academic try to change your mind.
The Centrelink debt recovery system reminds us that many data systems are prone to error, and that’s built in to how they work.
The mathematician Kurt Gödel is said to have found a way that the US constitution would allow for a dictator to take control, or so the story goes. He certainly had the mind for it.
Going round in circles can actually make your journey more efficient.
Good quality education fuels an economy. South Africa needs to increase its supply of science and technology university graduates. But instead it’s lowering the bar, especially when it comes to maths.
Up until the seventeenth century, astrology was seen as a scholarly tradition, and it is credited as influencing the development of many modern day subjects.
Maths occupies an eminent place in global schooling assessment criteria not just because of its content, but for the skills that are taught and developed alongside it.
The truth behind South Africa’s decision to allow 20% as a maths pass mark in some grades is a little more complex than many have suggested.
There’s extensive research evidence to suggest that grade repetition does more harm than good.
Policy continuity is what is needed to improve Australian students’ maths capability.
If we want excellence in our schools, we have to provide a system with the incentives, enablers and rewards for improvement built in.
Politicians need to stop meddling with education policy and invest in teachers if Australia’s science, mathematics and reading standards are to improve.
Top contributors
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Laureate Professor of Mathematics, University of Newcastle
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PhD; Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (retired) and Research Fellow, University of California, Davis
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Emeritus Professor, University of Nottingham, (currently CEO and Senior Vice President of the PETRA Group), University of Nottingham
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Professor of Mathematics, University of Florida
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Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Biology, University of Bath
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PhD Candidate, Australian National University
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Professor of Mathematics, Toronto Metropolitan University
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Mathematician, University of Portsmouth
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Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow, Purdue University
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Lecturer, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
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Acting Director of Research, Reader in Global Development, Newcastle University
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Senior lecturer, UNSW Sydney
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Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University
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Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Monash University
