Famous figures
Portraits of famous mathematicians, historical and contemporary
A theorem puzzle in pictures: Monday's challenge | Tangente
Since 2015, the Image des maths website (https://images.math.cnrs.fr) has featured a "picture-theorem puzzle" every Monday, taken from Geometry in Figures, a book published in 2011 by the young Russian mathematician Arseniy Akopyan (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform) and available in French as Figures sans paroles (Independently Published, 2019).
What neurologists think | Tangente
It seems widely accepted that our faculties diminish with age. What about our capacity to do mathematics? What can neuroscience specialists teach us about this?
The factorization of large integers:
The most widespread cryptography system relies on the use of very large integers, whose factorization remains beyond the reach of our computers. As early as the 17th century, Mersenne and Fermat were investigating the prime factorization of very large numbers; their work inspired modern factorization algorithms.
The second life of women mathematicians | Tangente
There is no shortage of examples of mathematical careers extended to a relatively advanced age, or begun late in life. The few women who, throughout history, managed to produce fine results despite every obstacle, often find themselves in one of these situations.
Mathematicians to the last breath! | Tangente
Mathematical creativity seems to wane with age. Few results of real importance have been proved after the age of 50. Yet some mathematicians defy this prejudice, pursuing fruitful scientific work right up to their last breath. So what is their secret?
Tangente's 35th anniversary | Tangente
Come celebrate a unique anniversary, the 35th anniversary of the only magazine of mathematical culture in the world sold at newsstands! There will be something for every taste, every age and every level. Here is a preview of what this eventful day has in store. The full program can be found at the end of this article.
A comic book introduction to Maryam | Tangente
Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani (1977–2017) became the first woman to win the Fields Medal in 2014.
A podcast devoted to Ada Lovelace | Tangente
Bababam's "True Story" podcasts tell remarkable true stories that are a pleasure to listen to and share.
Roger Apéry and the irrationality of zeta(3)
Greek on his father’s side, Roger Apéry (1916–1994) spent his childhood in Lille (Nord) before moving to Paris in 1926. Living conditions there became difficult following the 1929 crisis and his father’s loss of his engineering job. To escape this environment, he placed his faith in France’s state school system and academic success.
H.S.M. Coxeter: A geometer's long life | Tangente
H.S.M. Coxeter was born on February 9, 1907, in Kensington, Great Britain. Since both his parents were art lovers, music became his first passion.
Late arrivals: great minds who came to mathematics late | Tangente
Few mathematicians reach their first fundamental results late in life. Yet examples exist, even among the most celebrated scholars. The reasons behind this turn toward the queen of the sciences at a mature age are varied, as shown by the paths of Cardano, Napier and Weierstrass.
Inverting the power
The notion of power defined with respect to a circle naturally leads to the notions of inversion and polars. These pedagogical tools, which have vanished from school curricula, are central to the birth of the concept of duality and of representations of non-Euclidean geometry.
Blackjack: fluctuating probabilities | Tangente
Mathematicians have been studying blackjack since the postwar years. They discovered ways to improve players’ performance by applying probabilities both statically (basic strategy) and dynamically (card counting). But casinos changed the rules to protect themselves.
The Demaines: a father-son duo passionate about folding | Tangente
Born in 1942, Martin Demaine initially studied glassblowing in Britain.
Alexandre Grothendieck's visionary method | Tangente
Alexandre Grothendieck (see our feature in Tangente 162, 2015) left an indelible mark on 20th-century mathematics.
Pioneers of mathematical abstraction | Tangente
Meet some of the pioneers of abstraction in mathematics.
Maurice Fréchet: to axiomatize or de-axiomatize | Tangente
The French mathematician Maurice Fréchet distinguished two types of researchers. Some work essentially in an abstract manner, while others are concerned with experimentally verifying the predictions that their mathematical approach leads them to.
2022 Fields Medals: some lovely surprises
The Fields Medals, awarded every four years, were announced in early July! France can take pride in a new triumph with Hugo Duminil-Copin. For the second time, a woman, Maryna Viazovska, has been honored. British mathematician James Maynard and American–South Korean June Huh round out this year's medalists.
Van der Waerden's conjecture solved | Tangente
Manjul Bhargava, a mathematician of Indian origin who was born in Canada in 1974 and is now a professor at Princeton University in the United States, has just proved van der Waerden's conjecture.
Marie Lhuissier awarded the d'Alembert Prize | Tangente
Marie Lhuissier is the 2022 winner of the Société mathématique de France's d'Alembert Prize.