History and Culture
History of mathematics and cultural connections
Maths enthusiasts take the stage | Tangente
Maths in the theatre—can that really be serious? Absolutely! From the maths teacher at the blackboard, embodying abstract mathematics before their students, to the actor on stage playing an imaginary character, it may be only a short step—one that many enthusiasts have taken. And in this field, imagination reigns supreme, so anything goes!
Workshop of potential tragicomedy | Tangente
The Workshop of Potential Tragicomedy (Outrapo) is to theater what Oulipo is to literature.
Convexity and inequalities
Convex functions arose in analysis as a means of proving inequalities
Convex geometry
Convex geometry lies at the crossroads of optimization, analysis, topology, combinatorics and, of course, geometry. The graphical and visual interpretations it affords are powerful aids to intuition. Yet fundamental questions remain open.
Maths on stage | Tangente
Over the past thirty years, forms of theatre have emerged that allow mathematics to be discussed, brought to life and shared. Artists and mathematicians, actors and directors alike have realised that there is a large and eager audience for such creations.
Revisiting the classics… | Tangente
Numerous shows with mathematical content are regularly created. But might there be mathematics in theatre itself? We can revisit the classics from a different perspective. Let's reread Molière, Marivaux and Ionesco.
The genesis of metric spaces
In the early 20th century, Maurice Fréchet and Felix Hausdorff felt they were discovering a new world: set theory provided the framework in which they introduced the concept of distance, a generalization of absolute value on the real numbers.
A geometric and historical concept
Etymologically, the word "geometry" means the measurement of the Earth. Geometry has therefore always dealt with "lengths" and "distances." Initially empirical, the concept was gradually refined, structured, and axiomatized from antiquity to the present day—a long journey through both time and space.
Measuring distances in the Age of Enlightenment
In the 18th century, many mathematical treatises dealt with practical geometry. They presented numerous problems involving the measurement of lines, areas and solids, together with their solutions. Various methods were reviewed for measuring the shortest path between two points.
A modern theory with ancient roots | Tangente
It was during the twentieth century that convexity emerged as a mathematical discipline in its own right. Before then, eminent mathematicians had occasionally glimpsed the potential value of this notion in geometry and analysis.
Erdős number: distance between mathematicians | Tangente
Have you heard of the Erdős number, which measures how "close" a researcher is to Hungary's most famous mathematician through successive collaborations?
The evolution problem in general relativity
Einstein's equations of general relativity have returned to the spotlight in recent years. Progress has been made on the stability of Minkowski space and on the still-elusive cosmic censorship conjecture, formulated by 2020 Nobel laureate in physics Roger Penrose...
Exceptional documentaries on Arte.tv | Tangente
Arte.tv recently released a series of documentaries about mathematics. Not to be missed.
Solving Molière’s equations | Tangente
While we wait for the "Maths and theatre" feature in our next issue, here is a short sketch that solves some equations posed by Molière, with incomplete information but under constraints. A teacher (of maths?) and an actor meet by chance...
Tangente Awards 2021: the winners | Tangente
As it does every year, the Tangente Awards ceremony was a highlight in the promotion of mathematics and the role literature plays in it. After the 2020 event was held remotely, the 2021 ceremony took place in person on December 16 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers. Meet the award-winning works and their authors.
What makes us human: geometric intuition | Tangente
Humans have possessed geometric intuition since the dawn of time—but do other primates share it? To find out, Mathias Sablé-Meyer proposes an experiment: identify the odd one out in a series of six quadrilaterals.
Doing maths is good for the brain... it’s proven! | Tangente
A brain trained in maths during youth is better equipped to reason correctly and guard against misinformation and stereotypes.
Algebra mourns: Jacques Tits has passed away | Tangente
Belgian-born French mathematician Jacques Tits (1930–2021) passed away in early December.
Marc-Antoine Mathieu: comics and dimensions | Tangente
Julius Corentin Acquefacques, prisoner of dreams, is perhaps the comic-book hero most often drawn into the world of mathematical ideas. Let's venture into the extraordinary world of his creator, Marc-Antoine Mathieu.
Rose Polymath and Anselme Lanturlu: Science comics | Tangente
Many comic-book authors draw on mathematics in their work, whether consciously or not. Conversely, scientists committed to public outreach who can also draw sometimes try their hand at making comics.