By:
On:
In: 2026, Algebra and Number Theory, Bill Casselman, History of mathematics
Tagged: , ,
With: 0 Comments
This is not obviously a difficult problem. But in over two hundred years since Carl Friedrich Gauss first posed it, there has been remarkably little progress... Another Look at Circles and Squares Bill Casselman University of British Columbia Another look at circles and squares One of the most intriguing unsolvedRead More →

By:
On:
In: 2026, Anil Venkatesh, Math and Social Sciences, Probability and Statistics
Tagged: , , , ,
With: 0 Comments
My first encounter with the Shapley value came in the unlikely context of video game design... The Shapley Value, or How to Split a Bill in $n!$ Easy Steps Anil Venkatesh Adelphi University Introduction More often than not, a happy hour with my non-mathematician friends ends with the assumption thatRead More →

By:
On:
In: 2026, Anna Haensch, Math and Social Sciences, Probability and Statistics
Tagged:
With: 1 Comment
Every ballot quietly asks a question, and depending on the voting method we use we choose to listen to or discard little bits of the answer... The Story Your Ballot Doesn’t Tell: The Mathematics of Single-Winner Elections Anna Haensch University of Wisconsin - Madison Introduction: Who’s the Spoiler? The greatRead More →
Feature Column

By:
On:
In: 2026, Algebra and Number Theory, History of mathematics, Ursula Whitcher
Tagged: , , , , , , ,
With: 0 Comments

Though the chart starts out in alphabetical order, there's a break in the pattern that offers a clue... Puzzling Like the Seventeenth Century Ursula Whitcher Mathematical Reviews (AMS) The following chart is taken from the second edition of a German-language arithmetic textbook by Anton Schultze. It was published in LiegnitzRead More →

Feature Column

By:
On:
In: 2026, Discrete Math and Combinatorics, History of mathematics, Joseph Malkevitch
Tagged: , ,
With: 0 Comments
Every time some mathematical question is answered, it generates new mathematical issues to think about.... Does Mathematics Progress? Joe Malkevitch York College (CUNY) Introduction With the beginning of a New Year—2026 in one system of counting, though not all societies use the same calendar—many people take the opportunity to examineRead More →
Feature Column

By:
On:
In: 2026, Anil Venkatesh, Probability and Statistics
Tagged: , ,
With: 0 Comments
Could we possibly gain more insight by trading away even more information? Information, Insight, and the Problem With Parameters Anil Venkatesh Adelphi University Introduction I have two data sets for us to consider. Both consist of observations of a single variable. Data Set 1 holds the daily number of positiveRead More →
Feature Column

By:
On:
In: 2025, Joseph Malkevitch, Math and Social Sciences
Tagged: ,
With: 1 Comment
What may surprise you is the extent to which mathematicians (and computer scientists) have systematically studied issues involving fairness... Achieving Fairness Joe Malkevitch York College (CUNY) Introduction The experience of being alive begins with the fact that no matter how hard one may try to put oneself in the positionRead More →
Feature Column

By:
On:
In: 2025, Discrete Math and Combinatorics, Probability and Statistics, Ursula Whitcher
Tagged: , , ,
With: 0 Comments

The negative hypergeometric distribution isn’t labeled negative because it uses negative numbers. It’s negative because we’re thinking about failure… The Hypergeometric Flower Pot Ursula Whitcher Mathematical Reviews (AMS) I spent the hottest days of summer engrossed by Balatro, a video game cross between poker and solitaire that’s catnip for probabilityRead More →

Feature Column

By:
On:
In: 2025, Algebra and Number Theory, Audrey St. John, Geometry and Topology, Jessica Sidman
Tagged: ,
With: 0 Comments

The next time it's pouring rain and you're clinging to that umbrella like it's your most prized possession, take the opportunity to look up and see the beauty of the mathematics above you. Grasping the Math That's Over Your Head Jessica Sidman Amherst College Audrey St. John Mount Holyoke CollegeRead More →