Mathematical Themes
Explore the major mathematical themes: geometry, algebra, analysis, arithmetic, logic, and many other fascinating fields.
Commemorative maths prizes: honoring legacy | Tangente
Prizes help cultivate an appreciation for mathematics and recognize original teaching approaches. A prize has also just been created in tribute to a Chadian mathematician who was politically "eliminated".
Mathematics all around: awards for creators
Many writers, artists and game designers, whether professional or amateur, incorporate a mathematical dimension into their work. Every year, the Tangente Awards honor some of them.
Historical math challenges: the Renaissance | Tangente
Throughout history, one of the driving forces behind mathematical research has been intellectual battles fought through challenges. Some of them have remained famous.
Solving problems—and winning prizes
A great many competitions, most of them aimed at school students, involve solving problems. Some are international, national, regional or local; contestants may take part individually, in groups or as whole classes. What they all share is a desire to motivate young people to engage with mathematics.
Fashion by algorithm: predicting trends with math | Tangente
Who are these devils dressed in Prada in New York? It's not a joke — it's the title of a scientific paper by researchers from the eminently respectable National Taiwan University and University of Rochester (United States).
The ubiquitous normal distribution
Is it not astonishing that chance should obey a law? Two of the greatest mathematical geniuses proved that most random phenomena are governed by the "normal" distribution. Simple in form, it underpins the statistical interpretation of a set of measurements.
The choice of serve in tennis
A probabilistic model can help a tennis player choose which type of serve to use. Applied to the final of the last Davis Cup, which pitted Belgium against England.
Yesterday's conjectures, today's progress | Tangente
Egyptian fractions, like Einstein's relativity, provide the subject matter for conjectures that have only just been proved. The strange abc conjecture, simple to state, has just been resolved... if the proof put forward by Mochizuki turns out to be correct.
Maths and sport: probability and news | Tangente
The relationship between mathematics and sport is not purely theoretical. It is used every day by athletes, by those who coach them, and by the developers who simulate them.
Mathematical Art: Geometry and Creation | Tangente
Art and geometry always go well together; the material doesn't matter — wood, brick or even chocolate — as long as the shape is beautiful.
Euler's correspondence with his contemporaries | Tangente
Leonhard Euler maintained an extensive network of correspondents across Enlightenment Europe. His exchanges with Christian Goldbach, of particular interest for number theory, have just been published.
Goal average and rankings: sporting fairness | Tangente
Breaking ties, showcasing the spectacle of sport: that is the role of the points system, often modified over time. But does this move toward greater fairness? And how can cheating be avoided?
Tao solves Erdős's discrepancy conjecture | Tangente
Terence Tao is one of the great "problem posers" of his time, since a photograph that went around the world shows him, at ten years old, already at work with the famous Hungarian mathematician.
2016, a rich vintage
The entire Tangente editorial team joins in wishing its readers a very happy 2016. The gift it has cooked up for you? A bouquet of properties of the number 2016!
Percentage tennis: the maths that make you win | Tangente
Everyone talks about them, but few enthusiasts know what they really mean: probabilities play a major role in tennis, and players are best off adapting to them. Although the same issue arises in every sport, it has been studied most thoroughly in tennis.
Geometry and ball games
In ball sports, the constraints imposed by the rules have strategic implications rooted in geometry, whether the sport is team-based or individual
Tangente Trophies 2015: Full Results | Tangente
In addition to the Tangente Book Prize, two other trophies were awarded on December 9 at the Palais du Luxembourg: the Bernard Novelli Prize and the Best Article Prize.
Sophie Germain stamp: first look at the design | Tangente
A woman at the IHP!
Conjecture, conjecture... something will always come of it
Conjectures are especially famous when they have simple statements and resist mathematicians’ efforts for a long time. They give mathematics an air of mystery and bring great renown to those who solve them, but above all to those who first formulated them, such as Fermat and Goldbach.
Sports lottery and a fractal
Gambling, long condemned on religious or moral grounds, has flourished over the past century, along with sports betting, which has grown with the rise of online gaming. Statistical studies can help optimize the winnings of the homo ludens that modern humanity has become.