Bayes’s Theorem: the mathematical formula that ‘explains the world’
An obscure 18th-century Presbyterian minister’s insights into statistics are still valued today in making strategic economic decisions and forecasts
Reading, writing and arithmetic – the glorious interrelation of maths and literature
Sarah Hart discusses the Oulipo group, Jorge Luis Borges and Eleanor Catton among other writers who have explored the use of mathematics in their works
A radical new theory about the origin of the universe may help explain our existence
Alexander Masters examines the top down cosmology proposed by Stephen Hawking and Thomas Hertog
Small things misbehaving leads to the greatest question of all
Helgoland is a craggy German island in the North Sea. Barely bigger than a few fields, it reaches high above…
Will the universe end with a bang or a bounce?
Alexander Masters speculates on how the universe will end
There’s nothing wrong with plugging a friend’s book
The advantage of reviewing books by a friend is that you can invite him out for a walk across the…
Physicists have stranger ideas than the most preposterous Old Testament preacher
The beliefs of physicists are infinitely kookier than anything in the Bible, says Alexander Masters
How could anyone enjoy Cédric Villani’s ‘Birth of a Theorem’? I think I’ve worked it out
I’ve got a mathematical problem. Birth of a Theorem is by one of the great geniuses of today, a cosmopolitan,…
Alexander Masters’s diary: The idea that could unlock dozens of new cancer drugs
Two million pounds can buy you consideration for a place on a medical trial! Every year untold numbers of potential…
