As the country grew, each census required greater effort than the last. That problem led to the invention of the punched card – and the birth of an industry.
An illegal coltan mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Calculating pi with unprecedented accuracy has zero scientific usefulness. But as a show of computing muscle and a mathematical curiosity, it’s endlessly intriguing.
Finding the best tour from A through B, C and D and back to A might not be that hard, but adding a few more destinations could give you a headache.
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The traveling salesperson problem is so difficult that practical solutions can never be perfect – only good enough. The challenge is coming up with the best approximations.
Most of today’s AI’s come to a grinding halt when they encounter unexpected conditions, like a change in the rules of a game.
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The idea of a phone that can do everything is hardly new. But the premium pricing of Apple’s iPhone 11 begs the question of how far this trend can realistically be taken.
Mathematicians have known how to solve something called an S-unit equation for several years. However, the process is so convoluted that few can actually use it to tackle their problems.