Phys.org Mathmatics

• Disconnected from math, students call for real-world relevance, survey reveals

  According to the first-ever survey fielded by RAND's new American Youth Panel (AYP), 49% of students in middle and high school grades reported losing interest in math about half or more of the time, and 75% of youths reported losing interest for at least some class time.

• Smarter hypothesis testing with statistics: How e-values can improve scientific research

  During his Ph.D. research, mathematician Tyron Lardy worked on a new approach to hypothesis testing. Instead of the traditional p-value, he uses so-called e-values. These turn out to be more flexible—especially when you want to look at your results midway through the study.

• Solving big problems, one burrito truck at a time

  When trying to teach a complex subject, sometimes the best strategy is to wrap it in something familiar. Like a burrito.

• Digital twins reveal how math disabilities affect the brain

  Using AI to analyze brain scans of students solving math problems, researchers offer the first-ever glimpse into the neural roots of math learning disabilities.

• How to break the cycle of math anxiety

  It's an old joke that there are three kinds of people in the world: those who are good at math and those who aren't.

• AI reveals hidden language patterns and likely authorship in the Bible

  AI is transforming every industry, from medicine to film to finance. So, why not use it to study one of the world's most revered ancient texts, the Bible?

• Mathematical model helps European regions set suitable targets to close gender gaps in education

  The gender gap in education doesn't always disadvantage women. In countries like Estonia, Iceland, or Sweden, women outperform men in key indicators such as tertiary education and lifelong learning. But that, too, is a gender gap.

• Data-driven method reveals how (un)predictable complex systems can be

  A research team has developed a novel method for estimating the predictability of complex dynamical systems. Their work, "Time-lagged recurrence: A data-driven method to estimate the predictability of dynamical systems," published on 16 May 2025, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, introduces a technique called Time-Lagged Recurrence (TLR) that addresses a fundamental question in science and engineering: given a system's current state, how far into the future can we reliably predict its behavior?

• Study investigates why mathematical identity is important for students' motivation and competence

  Students' perceptions of their mathematical identity can provide insight into why some lose motivation or underperform in math. "The background of the research project MATHMot is that we know less about how motivation for math develops than about the development of math skills," says researcher Jelena Radišić.

• Prime numbers have fascinated mathematicians for centuries—technology is revolutionizing the search

  A shard of smooth bone etched with irregular marks dating back 20,000 years puzzled archaeologists until they noticed something unique—the etchings, lines like tally marks, may have represented prime numbers. Similarly, a clay tablet from 1800 B.C.E. inscribed with Babylonian numbers describes a number system built on prime numbers.

• Researchers help college students understand why mathematics classes matter

  West Virginia University researchers are changing how college mathematics is taught by evaluating and sharing a model for problem-solving that supports what students learn in other courses like business or biology.

• Few diffusers and many bottlenecks: The French labor market according to statistical physics

  How long have you been doing your current job? Have you ever thought about trying a new profession? How difficult does change seem to you? The current rapid transformation of the labor market is putting many workers to the test: they struggle to keep up and move into new roles, while at the same time, companies are having difficulty finding qualified personnel.

• Beyond intuition: Using mathematical models to shape behavior

  A new study introduces choice engineering—a powerful new way to guide decisions using math instead of guesswork. By applying carefully designed mathematical models, researchers found they could influence people's choices more effectively than relying on gut instincts or even traditional psychology. This discovery could pave the way for smarter, more ethical tools to improve decision-making in areas like education, health, and everyday life.

• Algebra is more than alphabet soup, it's the language of algorithms and relationships

  You scrambled up a Rubik's cube, and now you want to put it back in order. What sequence of moves should you make?

• How math reveals the bleeding edge of AI

  Mathematicians love the certainty of proofs. This is how they verify that their intuition matches observable truth.

• Mapping our emotionally divided society: Mathematical model helps explain polarization

  In our polarized political system, what's one thing that Democrats and Republicans have in common? Growing distrust and dislike for each other.

• Facebook data used to study global human migration patterns

  A team of statistical researchers at Meta, owner of Facebook, working with colleagues from the University of Hong Kong and Harvard University, has applied a specially designed algorithm to analyze Facebook data to track human migration around the world in the year 2022. The team has posted a paper describing their efforts and results on the arXiv preprint server.

• Physiology-inspired networks could improve political decision-making

  A study led by researchers at the Columbia Butler Aging Center and the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health has unveiled a framework for rethinking political decision-making—drawing inspiration from how the human body maintains stability and health. The findings are published in npj Complexity.

• Mathematician solves algebra's oldest problem using intriguing new number sequences

  A UNSW Sydney mathematician has discovered a new method to tackle algebra's oldest challenge—solving higher polynomial equations.

• 2.1 kids per woman might not be enough for population survival, new research reveals

  Human populations need at least 2.7 children per woman—a much higher fertility rate than previously believed—to reliably avoid long-term extinction, according to a new study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Takuya Okabe of Shizuoka University, Japan, and colleagues.

• Science explains how children best learn math—and yes, timed practice helps

  What's the best way for children to learn arithmetic—memorizing number values and multiplication tables, or studying math at a deeper, conceptual level?

• Language structure shapes color-adjective links even for people born blind, study reveals

  Humans are known to make mental associations between various real-world stimuli and concepts, including colors. For example, red and orange are typically associated with words such as "hot" or "warm," blue with "cool" or "cold," and white with "clean."

• Quantifying social avoidance: Game-based choices reflect real-world relationship patterns and network size

  The relationships between different people can change over time, as the result of their life choices, internal or external experiences and various other factors. Some people develop a greater tendency to avoid others in their lives, including friends, colleagues, family members and acquaintances.

• Beyond words: Hidden musical grammar of natural speech revealed in study

  The AI revolution, which has begun to transform our lives over the past three years, is built on a fundamental linguistic principle that lies at the base of large language models such as ChatGPT. Words in a natural language are not strung together in random patterns; rather, there is a statistical structure that allows the model to guess the next word based on what came before. Yet these models overlook a crucial dimension of human communication: content that is not conveyed by words.

• Addressing working memory can help students with math difficulty improve word problem-solving skills

  A new study from the University of Kansas explores the role of working memory in word problem-solving for students with and without math difficulties. Researchers found that using interventions to improve working memory can potentially benefit students who struggle with math.