Maths for everyone
Articles at an accessible level on varied mathematical topics
Objects that embody knowledge
A mathematical object is a concept arising from... mathematics. The objects featured in this saga are physical ones, of interest not only mathematically but also historically, educationally and aesthetically. They illustrate concepts and make them easier to understand.
And you find that funny? Humor and mathematics
Sexist stereotypes die hard, even in mathematics, which one might have thought immune to such irrational fears and baseless preconceptions. Let's turn them on their heads with a little humor!
Inclusive writing: a linguistic and mathematical issue
What is inclusive writing, one of the initiatives aimed at combating sexism?
Taking action against gender stereotypes
We met Véronique Slovacek-Chauveau and Annick Boisseau, the vice-president and secretary, respectively, of Femmes et mathématiques, who kindly agreed to answer our questions.
Gender balance in mathematics: an urgent priority
Although progress has been made in recent years, women remain underrepresented among those who use mathematics, from high school through to highly skilled scientific jobs. What lies behind this imbalance?
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
The women shattering the glass ceiling
Women are underrepresented in scientific careers and leadership positions. Yet some are at the helm of organizations across the mathematical world. We shine a spotlight on the women leading associations, learned societies, businesses and more.
Data visualization: bring your data to life
Today's connected world generates a continuous stream of raw data. For anyone seeking to explore and interpret it through graphical representations, data visualization is the visible tip of the Big Data iceberg. The goal? To convey a message and make decision-making easier...
Big news briefs: digital technology, Big Data and French
Everything you always wanted to know about Big Data but were afraid to ask.
Big Data: data, science's new El Dorado
People are talking about Big Data in industry, in university programs and online. Everywhere! But what does this term actually mean? It is a revolutionary technology that affects every major sector, from finance and transportation to science.
Cédric Villani at his best: lectures
Despite an extremely busy schedule, our most mathematically minded MP still pursues a few mathematics outreach activities...
Maths as an accessory: briefs and curiosities
The latest trendy creations for mathematical fashion lovers
Points and lines: let the maths festivities begin!
On a sheet of paper, you doodle a few points, join them with lines... and you're off! Trial and error, attempts, mistakes, partial successes, a conjecture... It's all there. Mathematics—graph theory in particular—joins the party.
Steganography, cryptography's inseparable companion
While cryptography seeks to make information unintelligible, steganography aims to conceal the very existence of that information. The idea is to hide it within a drawing, image, text or sound.
Mobile phones: location, networks and mathematics
A spy's dream would be for the target—the person under surveillance—to carry a microphone and a camera and be locatable. In fact, this is no longer a dream: everyone now owns a smartphone, complete with a microphone, a camera and GPS. The spy's life has become so easy…
The fascination of gears: geometry and mechanics
Gears are both objects of fascination and symbols of mechanics. Determining the shape of their teeth is a sophisticated mathematical problem. Yet this long history, which stretches back to antiquity and is still being written, remains remarkably little known!
A tour of the Museum of Machines: mathematics and mechanisms at the CNAM
Mathematics isn't visual? You can't really represent it "in the real world," let alone make it tangible? Think again! The Musée des arts et métiers (60 rue Réaumur, 75003 Paris) invites you to revisit its collections… through the surprising lens of mathematics.
Ulysse Lacoste: art, mathematics and performance
Mathematics, art, poetry, craftsmanship, kinematics, performance… Ulysse Lacoste's work embraces all this and more, blurring boundaries in pursuit of a distinctive alchemy that sets this singular artist's approach apart.
Spiral Jetty: Great Salt Lake's mathematical spiral
In 1970, American land-art pioneer Robert Smithson used bulldozers to create an enormous spiral of volcanic rock northeast of the Great Salt Lake, in Utah, in the western United States
Punch cards: from Jacquard to Hollerith
Interfaces are a defining feature of our culture: the punch-card control system of the Jacquard loom transformed textile manufacturing. But who remembers it today? It was a first step towards the computer, which now governs how we interact with the world.