The basic building blocks of the whole numbers remain mysterious.

Hidden Fibonacci numbers, a new shape and the search for a grand unified theory of mathematics are among our choices for most ...

A shard of smooth bone etched with irregular marks dating back 20,000 years puzzled archaeologists until they noticed something unique – the etchings, lines like tally marks, may have represented ...

A basic feature of number theory, prime numbers are also a fundamental building block of computer science, from hashtables to cryptography. Everyone knows that a prime number is one that cannot be ...

Each time you make a purchase online, your credit card number is kept safe using the power of prime numbers. Cryptography is the study of coding and sending secret messages. The idea is to construct a ...

For those who number ourselves among the algebraically impaired, higher math is like outer space—a forbidding frontier; a sphere of unknowns, peril and, as has been proved often enough, drama. It ...

One of the most stubborn stereotypes in modern culture is that of the oddball math genius—the rumpled savant too busy manipulating abstruse symbols to cope with daily life. This image is usually ...

Having a positive mindset in math may do more than just help students feel more confident about their skills and more willing to keep trying when they fail; it may prime their brains to think better.