Portal talk:Mathematics/Archive2020
Latest comment: 3 years ago by Dcljr in topic Unfinished selected pictures
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Duplicate "Did you know"
Number 34 and Number 43 in “Did you know” of Mathematics Portal are the same. — Preceding unsigned comment added by AshrithSagar (talk • contribs) 08:22, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
WP:RECOG discussion
dcljr, what do you think about automating the "Selected article" section using {{Transclude list item excerpts as random slideshow}}? This can be done after JL-Bot populates the section #Recognized content above. For an example of how it works, see Portal:Sports and its list of articles populated by the bot. —andrybak (talk) 18:14, 8 June 2020 (UTC)
- Have not had a chance to look into this. Hang on… - dcljr (talk) 07:22, 10 June 2020 (UTC)
- Dcljr, JL-Bot has updated the section above. 48 featured and good articles in total. Perhaps, more templates and categories could be added to the current list, which I made from Wikipedia:WikiProject_Council/Directory/Science#Mathematics. —andrybak (talk) 16:38, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
- The bot output has been moved to Portal:Mathematics/Recognized content. —andrybak (talk) 15:12, 5 November 2020 (UTC)
- Here's a demo of how this would look like:
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Geometric representation of the square pyramidal number 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 = 30.
In mathematics, a pyramid number, or square pyramidal number, is a natural number that counts the stacked spheres in a pyramid with a square base. The study of these numbers goes back to Archimedes and Fibonacci. They are part of a broader topic of figurate numbers representing the numbers of points forming regular patterns within different shapes.
As well as counting spheres in a pyramid, these numbers can be described algebraically as a sum of the first positive square numbers, or as the values of a cubic polynomial. They can be used to solve several other counting problems, including counting squares in a square grid and counting acute triangles formed from the vertices of an odd regular polygon. They equal the sums of consecutive tetrahedral numbers, and are one-fourth of a larger tetrahedral number. The sum of two consecutive square pyramidal numbers is an octahedral number. (Full article...) -
The Rado graph, as numbered by Ackermann (1937) and Rado (1964).
In the mathematical field of graph theory, the Rado graph, Erdős–Rényi graph, or random graph is a countably infinite graph that can be constructed (with probability one) by choosing independently at random for each pair of its vertices whether to connect the vertices by an edge. The names of this graph honor Richard Rado, Paul Erdős, and Alfréd Rényi, mathematicians who studied it in the early 1960s; it appears even earlier in the work of Wilhelm Ackermann (1937). The Rado graph can also be constructed non-randomly, by symmetrizing the membership relation of the hereditarily finite sets, by applying the BIT predicate to the binary representations of the natural numbers, or as an infinite Paley graph that has edges connecting pairs of prime numbers congruent to 1 mod 4 that are quadratic residues modulo each other.
Every finite or countably infinite graph is an induced subgraph of the Rado graph, and can be found as an induced subgraph by a greedy algorithm that builds up the subgraph one vertex at a time. The Rado graph is uniquely defined, among countable graphs, by an extension property that guarantees the correctness of this algorithm: no matter which vertices have already been chosen to form part of the induced subgraph, and no matter what pattern of adjacencies is needed to extend the subgraph by one more vertex, there will always exist another vertex with that pattern of adjacencies that the greedy algorithm can choose. (Full article...) -
In three-dimensional hyperbolic geometry, an ideal polyhedron is a convex polyhedron all of whose vertices are ideal points, points "at infinity" rather than interior to three-dimensional hyperbolic space. It can be defined as the convex hull of a finite set of ideal points. An ideal polyhedron has ideal polygons as its faces, meeting along lines of the hyperbolic space.
The Platonic solids and Archimedean solids have ideal versions, with the same combinatorial structure as their more familiar Euclidean versions. Several uniform hyperbolic honeycombs divide hyperbolic space into cells of these shapes, much like the familiar division of Euclidean space into cubes. However, not all polyhedra can be represented as ideal polyhedra – a polyhedron can be ideal only when it can be represented in Euclidean geometry with all its vertices on a circumscribed sphere. Using linear programming, it is possible to test whether a given polyhedron has an ideal version, in polynomial time. (Full article...) -
In mathematics and computer science, the BIT predicate, sometimes written , is a predicate that tests whether the th bit of the number (starting from the least significant digit) is 1, when is written as a binary number. Its mathematical applications include modeling the membership relation of hereditarily finite sets, and defining the adjacency relation of the Rado graph. In computer science, it is used for efficient representations of set data structures using bit vectors, in defining the private information retrieval problem from communication complexity, and in descriptive complexity theory to formulate logical descriptions of complexity classes. (Full article...)
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Two intersecting families of two-element subsets of a four-element set. The sets in the left family all contain the bottom left element. The sets in the right family avoid this element.
In mathematics, the Erdős–Ko–Rado theorem limits the number of sets in a family of sets for which every two sets have at least one element in common. Paul Erdős, Chao Ko, and Richard Rado proved the theorem in 1938, but did not publish it until 1961. It is part of the field of combinatorics, and one of the central results of extremal set theory.
The theorem applies to families of sets that all have the same size, , and are all subsets of some larger set of size . One way to construct a family of sets with these parameters, each two sharing an element, is to choose a single element to belong to all the subsets, and then form all of the subsets that contain the chosen element. The Erdős–Ko–Rado theorem states that when is large enough for the problem to be nontrivial ( ) this construction produces the largest possible intersecting families. When there are other equally-large families, but for larger values of only the families constructed in this way can be largest. (Full article...) -
Measuring the width of a Reuleaux triangle as the distance between parallel supporting lines. Because this distance does not depend on the direction of the lines, the Reuleaux triangle is a curve of constant width.
In geometry, a curve of constant width is a simple closed curve in the plane whose width (the distance between parallel supporting lines) is the same in all directions. The shape bounded by a curve of constant width is a body of constant width or an orbiform, the name given to these shapes by Leonhard Euler. Standard examples are the circle and the Reuleaux triangle. These curves can also be constructed using circular arcs centered at crossings of an arrangement of lines, as the involutes of certain curves, or by intersecting circles centered on a partial curve.
Every body of constant width is a convex set, its boundary crossed at most twice by any line, and if the line crosses perpendicularly it does so at both crossings, separated by the width. By Barbier's theorem, the body's perimeter is exactly π times its width, but its area depends on its shape, with the Reuleaux triangle having the smallest possible area for its width and the circle the largest. Every superset of a body of constant width includes pairs of points that are farther apart than the width, and every curve of constant width includes at least six points of extreme curvature. Although the Reuleaux triangle is not smooth, curves of constant width can always be approximated arbitrarily closely by smooth curves of the same constant width. (Full article...) -
Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian: Wigner Jenő Pál, pronounced [ˈviɡnɛr ˈjɛnøː ˈpaːl]; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles".
A graduate of the Technical University of Berlin, Wigner worked as an assistant to Karl Weissenberg and Richard Becker at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, and David Hilbert at the University of Göttingen. Wigner and Hermann Weyl were responsible for introducing group theory into physics, particularly the theory of symmetry in physics. Along the way he performed ground-breaking work in pure mathematics, in which he authored a number of mathematical theorems. In particular, Wigner's theorem is a cornerstone in the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics. He is also known for his research into the structure of the atomic nucleus. In 1930, Princeton University recruited Wigner, along with John von Neumann, and he moved to the United States, where he obtained citizenship in 1937. (Full article...) -
A Möbius strip made with paper and adhesive tape
In mathematics, a Möbius strip, Möbius band, or Möbius loop is a surface that can be formed by attaching the ends of a strip of paper together with a half-twist. As a mathematical object, it was discovered by Johann Benedict Listing and August Ferdinand Möbius in 1858, but it had already appeared in Roman mosaics from the third century CE. The Möbius strip is a non-orientable surface, meaning that within it one cannot consistently distinguish clockwise from counterclockwise turns. Every non-orientable surface contains a Möbius strip.
As an abstract topological space, the Möbius strip can be embedded into three-dimensional Euclidean space in many different ways: a clockwise half-twist is different from a counterclockwise half-twist, and it can also be embedded with odd numbers of twists greater than one, or with a knotted centerline. Any two embeddings with the same knot for the centerline and the same number and direction of twists are topologically equivalent. All of these embeddings have only one side, but when embedded in other spaces, the Möbius strip may have two sides. It has only a single boundary curve. (Full article...) -
Emanuel Lasker (German pronunciation: [eˈmaːnuɛl ˈlaskɐ] ⓘ; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher. He was the second World Chess Champion, holding the title for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champion in history. In his prime, Lasker was one of the most dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players in history.
His contemporaries used to say that Lasker used a "psychological" approach to the game, and even that he sometimes deliberately played inferior moves to confuse opponents. Recent analysis, however, indicates that he was ahead of his time and used a more flexible approach than his contemporaries, which mystified many of them. Lasker knew contemporary analyses of openings well but disagreed with many of them. He published chess magazines and five chess books, but later players and commentators found it difficult to draw lessons from his methods. (Full article...) -
Geometric visualization of the sorting problem. The input sets and are represented by the sets of vertical and horizontal black lines (respectively), and the goal of the problem is to sort the crossing points by the positions of the red diagonal lines through them.
In computer science, sorting is the problem of sorting pairs of numbers by their sums. Applications of the problem include transit fare minimisation, VLSI design, and sparse polynomial multiplication. As with comparison sorting and integer sorting more generally, algorithms for this problem can be based only on comparisons of these sums, or on other operations that work only when the inputs are small integers.
It is unknown whether this problem has a comparison-based solution whose running time is asymptotically faster than sorting an unstructured list of equally many items. Therefore, research on the problem has focused on two approaches to settle the question of whether such an improvement is possible: the development of algorithms that improve on unstructured sorting in their number of comparisons rather than in their total running time, and lower bounds for the number of comparisons based on counting cells in subdivisions of high-dimensional spaces. Both approaches are historically tied together, in that the first algorithms that used few comparisons were based on the weakness of the cell-counting lower bounds. (Full article...) -
SAS Institute (or SAS, pronounced "sass") is an American multinational developer of analytics and artificial intelligence software based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS develops and markets a suite of analytics software (also called SAS), which helps access, manage, analyze and report on data to aid in decision-making. The company's software is used by most of the Fortune 500.
SAS Institute started as a project at North Carolina State University to create a statistical analysis system, in fact SAS originally stood for "Statistical Analysis System", though it is no longer considered an acronym. It was originally used primarily by agricultural departments at universities in the late 1960s. It became an independent, private business led by current CEO James Goodnight and three other project leaders from the university in 1976. (Full article...) -
In mathematics, economics, and computer science, the Gale–Shapley algorithm (also known as the deferred acceptance algorithm, propose-and-reject algorithm, or Boston Pool algorithm) is an algorithm for finding a solution to the stable matching problem. It is named for David Gale and Lloyd Shapley, who published it in 1962, although it had been used for the National Resident Matching Program since the early 1950s. Shapley and Alvin E. Roth (who pointed out its prior application) won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics for work including this algorithm.
The stable matching problem seeks to pair up equal numbers of participants of two types, using preferences from each participant. The pairing must be stable: no pair of participants should prefer each other to their assigned match. In each round of the Gale–Shapley algorithm, unmatched participants of one type propose a match to the next participant on their preference list. Each proposal is accepted if its recipient prefers it to their current match. The resulting procedure is a truthful mechanism from the point of view of the proposing participants, who receive their most-preferred pairing consistent with stability. In contrast, the recipients of proposals receive their least-preferred pairing. The algorithm can be implemented to run in time quadratic in the number of participants, and linear in the size of the input to the algorithm. (Full article...) -
"The Gherkin", 30 St Mary Axe, London, completed 2003, is a parametrically designed solid of revolution.
Mathematics and architecture are related, since, as with other arts, architects use mathematics for several reasons. Apart from the mathematics needed when engineering buildings, architects use geometry: to define the spatial form of a building; from the Pythagoreans of the sixth century BC onwards, to create forms considered harmonious, and thus to lay out buildings and their surroundings according to mathematical, aesthetic and sometimes religious principles; to decorate buildings with mathematical objects such as tessellations; and to meet environmental goals, such as to minimise wind speeds around the bases of tall buildings.
In ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, India, and the Islamic world, buildings including pyramids, temples, mosques, palaces and mausoleums were laid out with specific proportions for religious reasons. In Islamic architecture, geometric shapes and geometric tiling patterns are used to decorate buildings, both inside and outside. Some Hindu temples have a fractal-like structure where parts resemble the whole, conveying a message about the infinite in Hindu cosmology. In Chinese architecture, the tulou of Fujian province are circular, communal defensive structures. In the twenty-first century, mathematical ornamentation is again being used to cover public buildings. (Full article...) -
In order theory and model theory, branches of mathematics, Cantor's isomorphism theorem states that every two countable dense unbounded linear orders are order-isomorphic. For instance, Minkowski's question-mark function produces an isomorphism (a one-to-one order-preserving correspondence) between the numerical ordering of the rational numbers and the numerical ordering of the dyadic rationals.
The theorem is named after Georg Cantor, who first published it in 1895, using it to characterize the (uncountable) ordering on the real numbers. It can be proved by a back-and-forth method that is also sometimes attributed to Cantor but was actually published later, by Felix Hausdorff. The same back-and-forth method also proves that countable dense unbounded orders are highly symmetric, and can be applied to other kinds of structures. However, Cantor's original proof only used the "going forth" half of this method. In terms of model theory, the isomorphism theorem can be expressed by saying that the first-order theory of unbounded dense linear orders is countably categorical, meaning that it has only one countable model, up to logical equivalence. (Full article...) -
Alfred North Whitehead OM FRS FBA (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He created the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which has been applied in a wide variety of disciplines, including ecology, theology, education, physics, biology, economics, and psychology.
In his early career Whitehead wrote primarily on mathematics, logic, and physics. He wrote the three-volume Principia Mathematica (1910–1913), with his former student Bertrand Russell. Principia Mathematica is considered one of the twentieth century's most important works in mathematical logic, and placed 23rd in a list of the top 100 English-language nonfiction books of the twentieth century by Modern Library. (Full article...)
Unfinished selected pictures
dcljr, please see the added captions:
If that's enough, I'll remove the disclaimer and add these pictures to the rotation on the portal's page. —andrybak (talk) 13:29, 5 November 2020 (UTC)