At first glance, the problem seems ridiculously simple. And yet experts have been searching for a solution in vain for decades. According to mathematician Jeffrey Lagarias, number theorist Shizuo ...

Mathematicians have long pondered the reach of a grazing goat tied to a fence, only finding approximate answers until now. Here’s a simple-sounding problem: Imagine a circular fence that encloses one ...

Most of the important discoveries in mathematics take place after decades or centuries of effort. If you want to attack the biggest problems, you’ll need to master a lot of highly technical material ...