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## Discover a new field of science with the latest no-prerequisite articles:

• Temperature Misconception: Heat is Not How it Feels By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-10 | Views: 323
In the last FIFA football world cup, many players complain about Manaus’ unbearable heat condition. Yet, the thermometer only went up to 30°C (86°F). Why is that? Well, as it turns out, how you feel is not really the outside temperature. This article unveils many of our deep misconceptions about heat.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Magic of Algebra By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-10 | Views: 914
The power of algebra lies in abstraction, and abstraction is basically forgetting. By retracing the History of algebra from its roots to more recent advancements, this article unveils the numerous breakthrough in our understanding of the world, by abusing of the power of forgetting.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Cubic Ball of the 2014 FIFA World Cup By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-07 | Views: 2486
I know this sounds crazy. Even stupid. But Adidas did design a cubic ball, called brazuca, for the 2014 World Cup. And, yet, this cubic ball is rounder than any previous ball in football History. How is it possible? This article explains it.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Addictive Mathematics of the 2048 Tile Game By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-06 | Views: 4060
2048 is the Internet sensation of the year. This very addictive game has been downloaded hundred of millions of times. Interestingly, this game raises plenty of intriguing mathematical questions. This article unveils some of them!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Unlikely Correctness of Newton’s Laws By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-05 | Views: 1421
Do moving objects exhaust? Does the Moon accelerate? How strong is the gravity pull of the Moon on the Earth compared to that of the Earth on the Moon? While we’ve all learned Newton’s laws of motion, many of us would get several answers of these questions wrong. That’s not so surprising, as Newton’s laws are deeply counter-intuitive. By stressing their weirdness with Veritasium videos, this article dives into a deep understanding of classical mechanics.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Computing Hunger worldwide: the Global Hunger Index (GHI) By Estève Giraud | Updated:2014-04 | Views: 259
The Global Hunger Index was first published in 2006 by the International Food Policy Research Institute and the NGO Welthungerhilfe. In 2007, Concern worldwide joined them. Since then, the Index reports every year the evolution of the hunger situation worldwide and focus on a given topic. How is it calculated? And what is hunger? How are we connected ? What can be done? To learn more, read the article below.
, by Estève Giraud I hold a MSc in Management from Toulouse Business School (France). I currently work as a MRes/PhD student in University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) and research on ethical mindsets in business.
• Homotopy Type Theory and Higher Inductive Types By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-04 | Views: 903
In this article, we explore the possibilities allowed by higher inductive types. They enable a much more intuitive formalization of integers and new mind-blowing definitions of the (homotopical) circle and sphere.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Type Theory: A Modern Computable Paradigm for Math By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-04 | Views: 3628
In 2013, three dozens of today’s brightest minds have just laid out new foundation of mathematics after a year of collective effort. This new paradigm better fits both informal and computationally-checkable mathematics. There is little doubt that it will fundamentally change our perspective on rigorous knowledge, and it could be that, in a few decades, the book they published turns out to be the bedrock of all mathematics, and, by extension, all human knowledge! Have a primer of this upcoming revolution, with this article on type theory, the theory that the book builds upon!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Tortuous Geometry of the Flat Torus By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-06 | Views: 6435
Take a square sheet of paper. Can you glue opposite sides without ever folding the paper? This is a conundrum that many of the greatest modern mathematicians, like Gauss, Riemann, and Mandelbrot, couldn’t figure out. While John Nash did answer yes, he couldn’t say how. After 160 years of research, Vincent Borrelli and his collaborators have finally provided a revolutionary and breathtaking example of a bending of a square sheet of paper! And it is spectacularly beautiful!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Thrilling Physics of Resonance By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-04 | Views: 7864
From the destruction of bridges and buildings to the foundations of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, through their uses by radios or our ears,resonance is a counter-intuitive underlying phenomenon which shapes our reality. But amazingly, they can be made amazingly visual by playing with head massagers!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Most Beautiful Equation of Math: Euler’s Identity By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-07 | Views: 6960
In 1988, Euler’s identity was elected most beautiful theorem of mathematics. It has been widely taught worldwide. But have you ever stopped to really sense the meaning of this incredible formula? This article does.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The New Big Fish Called Mean-Field Game Theory By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-06 | Views: 3474
In recent years, at the interface of game theory, control theory and statistical mechanics, a new baby of applied mathematics was given birth. Now named mean-field game theory, this new model represents a new active field of research with a huge range of applications! This is mathematics in the making!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Pluto is NOT (not?) a Planet By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-01 | Views: 749
In 2006, Pluto was officially demoted from its planetary status. When we dig a little bit, this isn’t much of the surprise. What’s more interesting is rather why it ever was regarded as a planet, as the History of Pluto highlights a magic enterprise that science is!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Most Troubling Experiments on Human Behavior By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-03 | Views: 917
We all intuitively think of ourselves as independent creatures with strong free will. However, many disturbing experiments about fashion, conformity, obedience, environment, choice and opinions have been troubling this idea we make of ourselves. These ought to be lessons of humility for all of us.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Santa Routing and Heuristics in Operations Research By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-05 | Views: 2164
Designing routes to visit customers has become one of applied mathematicians’ favorite optimization problems, as companies offer millions to solve them! This article discusses the clever technics they have come up with, and use them to help Santa deliver toys to kids all over the world!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• The Biology Civil War Opposing Kin to Group Selection By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-03 | Views: 905
In 2010, a controversial article published in Nature violently criticized the last 40 years of developments in evolutionary biology, triggering an ongoing war within the scientific community. This article explains the essence of the controversy!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Linear Algebra and Higher Dimensions By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-05 | Views: 2008
Linear algebra is a one of the most useful pieces of mathematics and the gateway to higher dimensions. Using Barney Stinson’s crazy-hot scale, we introduce its key concepts.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Numbers and Constructibility By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-11 | Views: 2590
Last summer, I got to discover Morellet’s artwork on inclined grids. Amazingly, this artwork is a display of the irrationality of $\sqrt{2}$! It’s also a strong argument for the existence of this number. In this article, after discussing that, I take readers further by discussing what numbers can be constructed geometrically, algebraically, analytically or set theoretically using the power of mathematics!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2014-11 | Views: 17111
The second law of thermodynamics is my favorite law in physics, mainly because of the troubling puzzles it raises! Indeed, what your professors may have forgotten to tell you is that this law connects today’s world to its first instant, the Big Bang! Find out why!
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)
• Logarithms and Age Counting By Lê Nguyên Hoang | Updated:2013-12 | Views: 1340
Amusingly, the age difference between a 45-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman doesn’t seem as big as the age difference between them 20 years earlier, when the woman was a little 5-year-old girl. This remark was the insight the late science popularizer Albert Jacquart liked to give to his readers to explain logarithms. This article pays tribute to the great scientist by introducing age difference as he liked to tell it.
, by Lê Nguyên Hoang PhD Student in Applied Maths at Polytechnique of Montreal.
Engineer of the Ecole Polytechnique, France. (X2007)