Everyday Math
Applied mathematics to everyday life: elections, sport, music, road traffic, weather, computer science, finance
Mobile structures and solar games for... | Tangente
Philippe Debouclans, a pioneer in solar-energy education, brought together a team to introduce young people to renewable energy through workshops featuring games and construction activities using his range of Héliobil toys.
Greenhouse gases: the paradoxes of transport
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Quantifying the share attributable to road transport is no simple matter—and reducing it is harder still!
Riverside road closures backfire | Tangente
The City of Paris decided to close the riverside roads. Tangente's editorial team asked the City of Paris to comment on the contents of this page. At the press deadline, we had not yet received a reply. If we do, we will add it to the digital edition of this issue.
The going rate for black gold - Math brief | Tangente
Should we fear an oil shortage or a surge in oil prices?
Setting off bright and early, on a bicycle… | Tangente
According to some media outlets, the bicycle is the future of mobility and the key to the energy transition. And yet…
The challenges of the energy transition
Modelling the key factors in the energy transition is essential in today's world, but it is no simple matter, especially because the modelling varies from one country to another. Electricity receives a great deal of attention, while other, sometimes far more important, areas are often overlooked. Here is a brief look at the key quantities that need to go into the equations.
Save fuel: bet on tires! | Tangente
In an unusual turn of events, the Industry category of the 2018 European Inventor Award, presented by the European Patent Office, has gone to a French mathematician.
Air pollution: the toll in figures | Tangente
How can we measure the effects of pollution? Is it true, as some claim, that air pollution causes 48,000 deaths a year in France and that fine particles, especially emitted by diesel engines, account for 9% of these deaths? Mathematical tools can help provide answers.
The science of wind turbines
Enthusiasm for generating electricity with wind turbines often overshadows scientific analysis. Where do we stand on the generation and distribution of this energy? What impact does it have on greenhouse gas emissions? Let's see what the figures tell us.
Electric vehicles: virtues... and vices
Electric vehicles have a reputation for being clean. True—but much depends on where the electricity that powers them is generated...
Biodiversity: a very fashionable portmanteau | Tangente
What does "biodiversity" mean? Where does the word come from? Even without knowing it, we think we understand what it means
Development, yes—but why...? | Tangente
The first criticisms of economic development based on the overexploitation of natural resources emerged in the late 1960s.
Sustainable development: an oxymoron? | Tangente
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that brings together two seemingly contradictory terms. Thus, in Le Cid (1637), Corneille coined the phrase “that dark radiance falling from the stars”
Mental arithmetic: tips, games and educational challenges
A mass-circulation weekly takes a look at mental arithmetic!
Correlation gone too far
The thermometer does not cause the temperature! Obvious, isn't it? And yet, how many people still confuse correlation with causation, or interpret two events coinciding as one causing the other... Let's unpack these mechanisms.
Making a sliced cube: net and assembly
Theory done—now for the hands-on part! Build your own sliced cube. A photo sequence illustrates each stage of the process step by step. Grab some glue and scissors, download and print the pieces to cut out, and... have fun!
Villani–Torossian report: 21 measures for mathematics
The press has covered it extensively: a report has just been submitted to the Minister of National Education, recommending 21 measures to improve mathematics teaching in France. We take a closer look.
High school reform: what future for mathematics?
What does the high school reform intended to overhaul the baccalauréat entail? Announced as the Villani–Torossian report was released, it appears to contradict the report's proposals.
Health and Big Data: AI in the fight against cancer
Big Data has many applications in medicine, from clinical practice and research to epidemiological surveillance
Big Data and insurance: the value of massive datasets
The press sometimes claims that insurers' access to ever-larger databases will soon enable them to assess each customer's risk perfectly and set a perfectly tailored premium. This new paradigm might even spell the end of insurance itself! But is that really so?