This weekend, the Franklin Institute opens its summer exhibition about mathematical patterns that recur in nature. Its centerpiece is a 1,700-square-foot maze of mirrors, set in a grid of equilateral ...

Images of plants painted on pottery made up to 8,000 years ago may be the earliest example of humans’ mathematical thought, a study has found.

How does a hungry shark decide where to look for a tasty meal when there’s no tempting morsel in plain sight? Sharks and other predatory sea animals may actually use math when they hunt, according to ...

The world's oldest known botanical art, from the Halafian culture of northern Mesopotamia around 6000 BCE, hides fascinating cultural shifts in its seemingly simple motifs, a new study reveals. The ...

Frank A. Farris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Mathematics can help us to draw real-life ...

People decide to take trips for a dauntingly complex mix of reasons, but out of the individual chaos of dry-cleaning pick-ups, pizza dinners, and European vacations, a new mathematical model has ...

This is the second in a two-part series. Part one can be found here. The debate over what early math should look like and what should be included in the Common Core State Standards for math is one of ...