Mathematical Themes
Explore the major mathematical themes: geometry, algebra, analysis, arithmetic, logic, and many other fascinating fields.
Margaret Hogg, pioneer of random sampling | Tangente
Margaret Hope Hogg was born in Scotland on October 15, 1894. After studying statistics, she joined the London School of Economics, where she worked from 1919 to 1925 under Arthur Lyon Bowley (1869–1957), renowned for his research into surveys conducted by "representative sampling."
Adolphe Quetelet and the average man in statistics | Tangente
Born in Ghent on February 22, 1796, French, then Dutch, and finally Belgian after 1830, Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874) was the very model of a cultured polymath. After defending a thesis in geometry, he worked in scientific fields beyond pure mathematics.
Florence Nightingale and medical statistics | Tangente
Born in Florence, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) came from a wealthy, upper-class British family. From an early age, she was deeply concerned about the living conditions of the poor and about healthcare.
Automated classification: K-means | Tangente
Your data collection has been highly effective: you now have a scatter plot revealing an impressive point cloud. How can these points be grouped into classes? How many classes will emerge? Today’s methods are advanced enough to automate the process.
Random sequences—Monte Carlo method | Tangente
Random numbers are used to obtain approximate numerical solutions to problems that may be too difficult to solve exactly (Monte Carlo methods are a typical example).
Extreme values — rare events | Tangente
The human, economic and financial repercussions make it essential to guard against extreme risks—that is, events that are unlikely to occur but have a major impact.
GPS: Mathematics and positioning | Tangente
By knowing the Sun's altitude above the horizon and the exact time, navigators were able to determine their longitude and latitude.
What makes modern statistics distinctive | Tangente
Anne Philippe is a professor at Nantes Université and a statistics researcher at the Jean-Leray laboratory. Since 2021, she has served as president of the French Statistical Society (SFdS).
Editorial
Statistics is one of the branches of mathematics with the widest range of applications. It emerged in the 19th century and developed in the early 20th; today, it is more relevant than ever, providing general methods for working with data.
Conway's Game of Life: The complete guide | Tangente
The many devotees of the Game of Life, devised by John Conway in 1970, now have their bible.
Golden ratio: mathematical properties | Tangente
An evocative subtitle, "La proportion magique" (The magic proportion), a foreword by Cédric Villani, a preface by Étienne Ghys, a glossy cover, high-quality paper, meticulous geometric drawings and understated but well-chosen illustrations: everything about this book invites you to open it.
Wittgenstein and the philosophy of mathematics | Tangente
The relationship between language and reality lies at the heart of Wittgenstein's thought. The issue takes on its full significance when it comes to mathematical entities. What if philosophers speculating about the rigorous logical foundations of these abstractions were on the wrong track?
Artists’ visions: knots in art and maths | Tangente
Three artists share their visions of knots.
Club Tangente celebrates its 10th anniversary | Tangente
The Tangente Awards have been held every year for the past decade. Tangente Days take place at prestigious venues such as the Musée des arts et métiers. These events were the brainchild of Club Tangente. We take a closer look at the work of this organization, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2023.
Stereographic projection
Since 2021, the Bourse de commerce in Paris has been open to the public, showcasing contemporary art from the Pinault Collection. Its superbly renovated interior offers mathematicians an opportunity to explore… stereographic projections!
Art and the sphere: when mathematics inspires | Tangente
A brief look at several artists who have made the sphere their subject.
Vaughan Jones, a "pure genius" of knot theory
If ever there was a knot theorist, it was Vaughan Jones. This New Zealand-American mathematician, a 1990 Fields Medalist, is now renowned worldwide for his contributions to knot theory. French mathematician Alain Connes (born in 1947 and himself a Fields Medalist) described his discoveries as "work of pure genius".
Aperiodic tiling: the ein stein tile | Tangente
Some craftspeople have become masters of the art of tiling, such as those who were commissioned to decorate the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain. This inevitably raises geometric questions. Which tiles can cover the plane? What symmetries emerge?
Terence Tao: Académie des sciences medal | Tangente
On March 21 in Paris, the mathematics world was abuzz: Terence Tao, a true "star" in the field to whom Tangente will devote a special feature in its next issue, was awarded a particularly prestigious honor for a researcher—the Grand Medal of the Académie des sciences.
A stamp honoring Blaise Pascal | Tangente
To mark the 400th anniversary of his birth, La Poste will issue a stamp bearing the likeness of Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) on June 19, 2023.