At the beginning of the 20th century, the German mathematician David Hilbert (1862–1943) advocated an ambitious program to formulate a system of axioms and rules of inference that would encompass all ...

In Math, we often talk of how a function behaves as a variable approaches limits at infinity. That is, if we let “x” take on larger and larger values, what happens to the value of “y” it creates? It ...

For four decades, a quiet boundary in pure mathematics kept a powerful theorem locked inside the safe world of finite quantities. Now a new result known as Sebestyen’s theorem has pushed that boundary ...

Programmers normally want to minimize the time their code takes to execute. But in 1962, the Hungarian mathematician Tibor Radó posed the opposite problem. He asked: How long can a simple computer ...

Calculus has a formidable reputation as being difficult and/or unpleasant, but it doesn’t have to be. Bringing humor and a sense of play to the topic can go a long way toward demystifying it. That’s ...

From a bedroom in the San Francisco Bay area, Salman Khan is using the Web to teach math and science to millions. Spencer Michels reports on how the non-profit Kahn Academy is providing educational ...