In the U.S. and across the world, the conversation around the great issues facing humanity often takes a binary approach, pitting one priority against another, as if life is a relentless series of ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. All of modern mathematics is built on the foundation of set theory, the study of how to organize abstract collections of objects. But in ...

Jie Wang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. The simplest ideas in mathematics can also be the most perplexing. Take addition. It’s a straightforward operation: One of the first ...

A new proof illuminates the hidden patterns that emerge when addition becomes impossible. The simplest ideas in mathematics can also be the most perplexing. Take addition. It’s a straightforward ...