## Perspectives on Polynomials (it’s a witch!)

Polynomials, it turns out, are useful for more than just input-output assignments! Perspectives on Polynomials (it’s a witch!) Courtney Gibbons Hamilton College It was a dark and stormy night… Okay, it was probably more like 3:30 in the afternoon on a crisp fall day back when I was teaching CalcRead More →

## What will they do when quantum computers start working?

Mathematically, the most intriguing of the new proposals use lattices for message encryption… What will they do when quantum computers start working? Bill Casselman University of British Columbia Commercial transactions on the internet are invariably passed through a process that hides them from unauthorized parties, using RSA public key encryptionRead More →

## Hyperoperations, Distributivity, and the Unreasonable Effectiveness of Multiplication

In 1915, the paper “Note on an Operation of the Third Grade” by Albert A. Bennett appeared in the Annals of Mathematics. A terse two-page note, it was largely neglected until the early 2000s… Hyperoperations, Distributivity, and the Unreasonable Effectiveness of Multiplication Anil Venkatesh Adelphi University Iterated Operations Everyone knowsRead More →

## Eight-dimensional spheres and the exceptional $E_8$

What is the $E_8$ lattice that appears in Viazovska's proof? What makes it special? How do you use it to pack spheres? Eight-dimensional spheres and the exceptional $E_8$ Ursula Whitcher Mathematical Reviews (AMS) In Helsinki this summer, Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska was awarded a Fields Medal "for the proof thatRead More →

## Applied Algebra: A Variety Show

I’m pretty sure the etiquette of puzzle creation insists that a “good” puzzle has a unique solution—but bear with me! I promise I’m breaking the rules of etiquette for a good reason! Applied Algebra A Variety Show Courtney Gibbons Hamilton College My interest in applied algebra was a long timeRead More →

## What is a prime, and who decides?

What is a prime, and who decides? Some people view mathematics as a purely platonic realm of ideas independent of the humans who dream about those ideas. If that’s true, why can’t we agree on the definition of something as universal as a prime number? Courtney R. Gibbons Hamilton CollegeRead More →

## Decomposition

Decomposition Mathematics too has profited from the idea that sometimes things of interest might have a structure which allowed them to be decomposed into simpler parts... Joe Malkevitch York College (CUNY) Introduction One way to get insights into something one is trying to understand better is to break the thingRead More →