Mathematical Themes
Explore the major mathematical themes: geometry, algebra, analysis, arithmetic, logic, and many other fascinating fields.
Go: the triumph of deep thought | Tangente
Go is the quintessential game of pure strategy. Chance plays no part in it. Until very recently, it remained the preserve of human intelligence, but computers eventually established their strategic superiority here too, twenty years after their triumph at chess.
How to simulate human behavior | Tangente
In video games, the challenge is to simulate human behavior so that users feel they are facing other players. Designing an artificial character is not simply a matter of optimization.
The pioneers – A mathematical brief | Tangente
Artificial intelligence has its roots in the daring efforts of pioneers who sought to "mechanize" human thought.
Major mathematical concepts in computational form... | Tangente
Will machines replace human beings? Will artificial intelligence prove better than us in every field? Gérard Berry reassures us on at least one point: computers are nowhere near supplanting mathematical ingenuity…
The birth of artificial intelligence | Tangente
The conjecture that all cognitive functions can be described precisely enough to be reproduced on computers has never been proved or disproved. It forms the basis of artificial intelligence as a scientific discipline.
The Villani report on AI | Tangente
Last March, mathematician and member of parliament Cédric Villani oversaw the drafting of a report on artificial intelligence (AI), a kind of "roadmap" charting the field's current state and future.
Misuse and security | Tangente
While AI makes large-scale data collection and analysis easier, it also enables greater surveillance of the population. Every coin has two sides...
AI and Big Data: pros and cons | Tangente
Artificial intelligence and Big Data have taken center stage in scientific research in recent years. The two fields are bound to interact, for better—and sometimes for worse, unless we are careful.
Self-driving cars and the 17th problem... | Tangente
Classical 19th-century mathematics is now joining forces with the latest advances in computational mathematics! In practical terms, rational functions are being enlisted to enable the self-driving cars of the future to travel safely…
Ethical driving - mathematics brief | Tangente
Programming self-driving cars raises ethical questions. Unexpected new conundrums have emerged. Some require only minor adjustments, but others remain unsolvable for now.
Computer-assisted proofs | Tangente
Can a machine prove a theorem? Probably not without a human to guide it, but computers are becoming increasingly useful assistants—for example, by turning a human proof into a formal one. Spectacular developments and applications are currently under way.
Bridge opens up a promising future for AI
Bridge is one of the few games to have resisted advances in computing. To crack it, a French academic is preparing to overturn received wisdom about AI development and take it to a new level, opening the way to fresh challenges.
The Bernard Novelli Prize:
Game-playing is one of the fields in which artificial intelligence excels. Club Tangente invites high school—and even middle school—students to undertake a project on the subject.
Novelli Prize opens to schools | Tangente
Established in 2013, the Bernard-Novelli Prize rewards a young person—a middle or high school student—or a group of young people for creating a computer program involving games and mathematics.
Tangente Day at the museum on December 2 | Tangente
Last year, more than 3,000 visitors came to the Musée des Arts et Métiers, which offered free admission all day for the occasion, to attend the activities marking Tangente's 30th anniversary.
Ancient mathematics: an introduction | Tangente
The July issue of Cahiers de Science & Vie highlights the history of mathematics and the various places where it developed.
How virtual images are created
How are realistic video-game landscapes created? How can a character and their clothes be made to move as fluidly as possible? The temporary exhibition "Sous la surface, les maths", designed by the Institut Henri-Poincaré and hosted by the musée des Arts et Métiers, explains everything.
François Morellet: concrete art and geometry | Tangente
The exhibition "L'esprit de suite," on view at the Musée Angladon in Avignon, offers an opportunity to (re)discover the artist François Morellet.
False "proofs"
Although fallacious proofs are not scams, they remain a teaching tool that often amuses math buffs… and everyone else!
Maths exposes a Lotto advertising scam | Tangente
The Belgian National Lottery has just changed its prize rules. New winning combinations have been introduced for Lotto (with two "t"s), offering new (small) prizes.