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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?
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.
Coloring problems
How many colors are needed to color the plane so that no two points exactly 1 unit apart ever have the same color? Behind this apparently elementary question lies a problem that remains unsolved.
Editorial
"Distance makes everything infinitely more precious." Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey (Hutchinson, 1968).
GPS and shortest paths: Dijkstra's algorithm | Tangente
"At the roundabout, turn right": but how does our GPS find the shortest route to our destination?