Florida Tech: University Study Examines Viral Probability of Social Media Posts. “[Xi] Zhang’s work provides a straightforward way of computing the average number of future reshares based on how the content has fared so far in terms of popularity. More plainly, Zhang’s work allows to predict how the resharing of online content will evolve over time.”
Government Technology: Digitized Kaktovik Numerals Engage Native American Students. “The international encoding standard Unicode has included Kaktovik numerals, designed by Iñupiaq students almost 30 years ago, in its latest version. Teachers in Alaska say it has spurred an interest in math.”
Caltech: Caltech Mathematicians Solve 19th Century Number Riddle. “For the past 175 years, a perplexing feature of numbers first stumbled upon by German mathematician Ernst Kummer has confounded researchers. At one point in the 1950s, this quirky feature of number theory was thought to have been wrong, but then, decades later, mathematicians found hints that it was in fact true. Now, after several twists and turns, two Caltech mathematicians have at last found proof that Kummer was right all along.”
Ars Technica: DeepMind breaks 50-year math record using AI; new record falls a week later. “Matrix multiplication is at the heart of many machine learning breakthroughs, and it just got faster—twice. Last week, DeepMind announced it discovered a more efficient way to perform matrix multiplication, conquering a 50-year-old record. This week, two Austrian researchers at Johannes Kepler University Linz claim they have bested that new record by one step.”
Brussels Times: New research could cut number of animals needed for laboratory research. “A PhD student at the Brussels VUB university has found that fewer laboratory animals would be needed for research projects if mathematical calculations were used to improve the analysis of results. This would bring down costs and spare animal lives.”
Mainichi: Unique 2-in-1 calculator app adds up to surprise hit for retired engineer in Japan . “The double calculator app allows users to move the computation results of one calculator onto the other by tapping arrow keys displayed on the middle of the screen. For example, if a user calculates ’89 x 15 = 1335′ on one calculator and taps the arrow key, the result ‘1335’ will be displayed on the other calculator, allowing the user to continue a problem while the previous equations are still shown on the screen. This makes it easy to notice errors. It is also possible to perform different computations on each calculator.”
Wolfram: Wolfram|Alpha Pro Teaches Step-by-Step Arithmetic for All Grade Levels. “Now, Wolfram|Alpha Pro returns step-by-step solutions for long addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems, including ones involving decimals or negative numbers. We have also developed detailed step-by-step solutions for long division of whole numbers and negative numbers as well as—for the high-school level—multiplication and division of polynomials.”
KnowTechie: Duolingo will now teach you elementary-level math. “Duolingo is expected to launch its flagship math (or maths, depending on what side of the Atlantic you live on) course today. Duolingo Math is a dedicated app for iOS and iPadOS. It re-uses the company’s gamification mechanics to teach third-grade maths.”
Los Alamos National Laboratory: Math error: A new study overturns 100-year-old understanding of color perception. “A paradigm shift away from the 3D mathematical description developed by Schrödinger and others to describe how we see color could yield more vibrant computer displays, TVs, printed materials, textiles and more.”
UChicago News: New startup offers students free online tools to learn math. “Through the startup’s free, ad-supported web-based tool, students can learn concepts, solve problems, check their work, and collaborate with teachers and classmates—all digitally.”
Texas A&M Today: Texas A&M Team Translates Thousands Of Pages Of Math Into Braille. “When Texas A&M University Mathematics Lecturer Vanessa Coffelt wanted to further accommodate coursework for students who are blind or visually impaired, the staff at Texas A&M’s Department of Disability Resources accepted the challenge. They worked closely with the Department of Mathematics to create a Braille translation — more than 2,300 pages worth.”
Wolfram Blog: Wolfram|Alpha, Now in Español!. “The Spanish version includes all the math topics available in the English version. The wide diversity of math topics included in Wolfram|Alpha allows it to answer almost any question, from elementary math to differential equations and elliptic functions.”
Stephen Wolfram Blog: Launching Version 13.1 of Wolfram Language & Mathematica 🙀🤠🥳. “In recent years we’ve established something of a rhythm, delivering the fruits of our development efforts roughly twice a year. We released Version 13.0 on December 13, 2021. And now, roughly six months later, we’re releasing Version 13.1. As usual, even though it’s a ‘.1’ release, it’s got a lot of new (and updated) functionality, some of which we’ve worked on for many years but finally now brought to fruition.”
CNET: Google Cloud Calculates 100 Trillion Digits of Pi. “Google’s cloud service has shattered a record it first broke in 2019, calculating 100 trillion digits of pi, Google Cloud said in a release Wednesday. This is the second time the cloud infrastructure setup has churned out an unprecedented number of digits for the mathematical constant. Last time it took pi to 31.4 trillion digits.”
University College London: Top-rated educational maths apps may not be best for children’s learning. “The top 25 maths apps for children under five-years-old do not reflect best practices on how children learn and develop their early mathematical skills, according to a new report from IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society.”
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