Knotty Fun at the Joint Math Meetings

By Evelyn Lamb | January 12th, 2013 | 2

Anyone with necklaces or lace-up shoes has some first-hand experience with knots, but believe it or not (knot?), there is an entire mathematical discipline dedicated to studying knots and some closely related concepts. A mathematical knot is almost like a real-world knot, but it can’t have any ends. So if you’re thinking of a shoelace, [...]

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Where in the World Are the Odd Perfect Numbers?

By Evelyn Lamb | January 10th, 2013 | 3

The launch of Roots of Unity was just in time for this year’s Joint Mathematics Meetings, a mathapalooza put on by the two largest professional mathematical societies (the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America). Nearly 6,000 of my closest mathematical friends are here with me in sunny San Diego taking in the [...]

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The First Root of Unity

By Evelyn Lamb | January 7th, 2013 | 6

Welcome to Roots of Unity! I’m Evelyn Lamb, and I am a mathematician. You can read more about me here. I got my Ph.D. in math in May 2012 and started writing for Scientific American in June through an AAAS Mass Media Fellowship. My journey into science communication has been thrilling, and I’m excited to [...]

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