Equity is an elusive goal for algorithms for reasons that have more to do with mathematical impossibilities than backward ideologies.

The vertical subtraction algorithm we learned in school doesn’t make this clear — it is a memorized algorithm that can be done efficiently with pencil and paper by someone who has practiced it ...

Computers fail at even simple math more often than many of us realize and that flaw is rooted in the architecture of the machines themselves. Using machine learning, Google might have discovered a ...

A practice known as predictive policing is an example of an algorithm with racist implications, O’Neil said. The algorithms involved in predictive policing look at locations of arrests, series of ...

If there are multiple solutions, the algorithms will find them all. This is a small example where setting up the algebra is harder than just doing the puzzle. But the techniques generalize widely.

To multiply two numbers by hand takes a few steps but it's something we're taught in school. When dealing with big numbers, really big numbers, we need to a quicker way to do things.

Fixed-point math provides a small, fast alternative to floating-point numbers in situations where small rounding errors are acceptable. After implementing the algorithms described in this article, ...

Everyday Math is another form of rebellion, in this case against what people who seem to dislike numbers think of as “boring”: drills, algorithms, practice … all the things that work memory ...