Mathematical Themes
Explore the major mathematical themes: geometry, algebra, analysis, arithmetic, logic, and many other fascinating fields.
ROADEF/EURO challenge: 20 years of OR competitions | Tangente
This challenge is an exemplary model of collaboration between industry and academia in solving operations research problems!
CNRS operational research group | Tangente
In France, research laboratories are often large—sometimes employing several hundred researchers—and span several disciplines. GDRs coordinate research in a particular discipline across laboratories, allowing researchers to exchange ideas directly with other specialists in their field, all of whom are brought together within the GDR.
ROADEF, a learned society for operational research | Tangente
Since its founding in 1998, ROADEF has played an important role in operational research in France.
Operational research in France: a history | Tangente
Operational research (OR) seems to have emerged in the US military, first in radar development and then in inventory management during the First World War.
2020 Littéramath list | Tangente
Many young French people—and plenty of not-so-young ones—have a fraught relationship with mathematics. This is no secret. One way to address this, and to keep children from feeling that they are entering unfamiliar territory when they first begin learning mathematics, is to familiarize them early on with the cultural world of mathematics.
The Bernard-Novelli prize: Mathematical news brief | Tangente
Another Tangente Trophy will be awarded this year: the Bernard-Novelli Prize. Run for several years with CASIO’s support, it recognizes a middle- or high-school student—working alone or in a group—who has written a computer program based on a mathematical game.
The 2020 Tangente High School Students' Prize: Enigma wins | Tangente
The sixth edition of the Tangente High School Students' Prize (PTL) took place this year. Despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, several schools still managed to see it through to the end!
Tangente Prize: Mathematics in Books | Tangente
You can read while nurturing your interest—or even your passion—for mathematics! Many authors draw inspiration and the subjects of their books from the inexhaustible wealth of material that mathematics provides. The Tangente Book Prize exists to promote the most captivating of these books.
Measuring without a standard: the challenge | Tangente
It is easy to measure the distance between two points in the plane using a ruler, or to weigh something using scales. Measuring areas or volumes requires a command of integral calculus. But what about concepts for which comparison with a standard is difficult, such as happiness?
The history of the Paris meridian | Tangente
The best-known story in the history of measurement is surely the determination of our planet's circumference...
Units of measurement: the history of the SI | Tangente
Metrology is the science of measurement. Measuring means comparing a quantity with a standard. This requires a system of units. Several such systems have emerged over the course of history, evolving as scientific knowledge advanced.
Otto Neugebauer Prize: Karine Chemla | Tangente
Awarded every four years by the European Mathematical Society (EMS), the Otto Neugebauer Prize recognizes outstanding research in the history of mathematics.
Jacqueline Ferrand Prize in Grenoble | Tangente
Also awarded every two years by the SMF, the Jacqueline Ferrand Prize goes to "La Grange Vadrouille/La Grange École," an initiative run by the association "La grange des maths." It recognizes an innovative mathematics education project, perfectly in keeping with the association's aims.
D'Alembert Prize: an award-winning festival | Tangente
Awarded every two years by the Société mathématique de France (SMF), the d'Alembert Prize recognizes an initiative designed to make mathematics better known and understood by a broad audience.
Game theory: Von Neumann | Tangente
Toward the end of the Second World War, the celebrated mathematician John von Neumann and the economist Oskar Morgenstern broke new ground by providing a mathematical foundation for the strategic behavior of players and economic agents.
How Archimedes squared his spiral
Archimedes is admired for his great discoveries. Less well known is how his proofs unfolded. Without effective mathematical notation, reasoning was fraught with difficulty and demanded considerable ingenuity…
The 100 km rule explained | Tangente
To prevent the virus from surging again as lockdown restrictions were lifted, people could travel only within a hundred-kilometre radius of their home or within their own department. This was far from fair to everyone! Who were the lucky ones?
Numbers and measurement
Numbers and measurement have followed parallel paths throughout history. While it is easy to assign a number to a length or volume, this becomes more difficult for properties that are not linear, such as temperature or the acidity of a solution.
Mathematical models and measurement | Tangente
When direct measurements are impossible, we must rely on mathematical models, which need to be validated. The results then depend on the precision of the available direct measurements and on how well suited the chosen model is.
Elections: the PLM Act explained | Tangente
Do Parisian voters know that they are choosing the members of three different assemblies? Do they understand how the lucky winners are selected once the votes have been counted? In Marseille and Lyon too, the winner is not necessarily the candidate who received the most votes!