Planning the best route with multiple destinations is hard even for supercomputers – a new approach breaks a barrier that's stood for nearly half a century
The traveling salesperson problem is so difficult that practical solutions can never be perfect – only good enough. The challenge is coming up with the best approximations.
April 9, 2021 • ~9 min
If everyone on Earth sat in the ocean at once, how much would sea level rise?
Even if every human being on Earth went for a dip in the ocean at the same time, they'd be just a drop in the bucket compared to the size of the planet's seas.
March 29, 2021 • ~5 min
What is a margin of error? This statistical tool can help you understand vaccine trials and political polling
Whether you are predicting the outcome of an election or studying how effective a new drug is, there will always be some uncertainty. A margin of error is how statisticians measure that uncertainty.
Jan. 6, 2021 • ~5 min
Herd immunity won’t solve our COVID-19 problem
Without a vaccine, the cost of reaching herd immunity during a pandemic is counted in lives lost, and it won't quickly stop the virus's spread.
June 16, 2020 • ~7 min
Coronavirus: Why the maths behind 'COVID alert levels' makes no sense
The equation 'COVID alert level = R (rate of infection) + number of infections' simply does not add up to a number between one and five.
May 15, 2020 • ~6 min
How much coronavirus testing is enough? States could learn from retailers as they ramp up
Testing everyone for COVID-19 isn't realistic in a country the size of the US, but there are ways to design testing systems that can catch most of the cases.
April 21, 2020 • ~7 min
The maths logic that could help test more people for coronavirus
Here's one way to test more people for coronavirus with fewer resources.
April 9, 2020 • ~6 min
Coronavirus is growing exponentially – here’s what that really means
The awesome power of exponential growth explained.
April 3, 2020 • ~7 min
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