Quanta Magazine
@quantamagazine.bsky.social
Illuminating math and science. Supported by the Simons Foundation. 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. www.quantamagazine.org
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To Have Machines Make Math Proofs, Turn Them Into a Puzzle | Quanta Magazine
Marijn Heule uses turns mathematical statements into something like Sudoku puzzles, then has computers go to work on them. His proofs have been called “disgusting,” but they go beyond what any human c...
www.quantamagazine.org
In a conversation with John Pavlus, Marijn Heule shares how a form of AI called SAT can use hard-coded rules, and not the inscrutable interactions within a deep neural network, to solve problems beyond human reasoning. www.quantamagazine.org/to-have-mach...
Quantum theory is no longer imaginary.
Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics | Quanta Magazine
Quantum mechanics has at last been formulated exclusively with real numbers, bringing a mathematical puzzle at the heart of the theory into a new era of inquiry.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Quantum theory is no longer imaginary.
Will it take decades or centuries for West Antarctica's glaciers to melt into the ocean? 230 million people live near enough to sea level to be impacted by the answer to this question. www.quantamagazine.org/how-soon-wil...
November 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Will it take decades or centuries for West Antarctica's glaciers to melt into the ocean? 230 million people live near enough to sea level to be impacted by the answer to this question. www.quantamagazine.org/how-soon-wil...
All manifolds are shapes, but not every shape is a manifold. www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-ma...
What Is a Manifold? | Quanta Magazine
In the mid-19th century, Bernhard Riemann conceived of a new way to think about mathematical spaces, providing the foundation for modern geometry and physics.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 10, 2025 at 4:31 PM
All manifolds are shapes, but not every shape is a manifold. www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-ma...
Reposted by Quanta Magazine
Check out the cover for our inaugural title, @kevinhartnett.bsky.social’s THE PROOF IN THE CODE, coming June 9, 2026! Shoutout @fsgbooks.bsky.social for the beautiful design. Want a copy of your own? You can now preorder here: us.macmillan.com/books/978037....
November 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Check out the cover for our inaugural title, @kevinhartnett.bsky.social’s THE PROOF IN THE CODE, coming June 9, 2026! Shoutout @fsgbooks.bsky.social for the beautiful design. Want a copy of your own? You can now preorder here: us.macmillan.com/books/978037....
In a conversation with John Pavlus, Marijn Heule shares how a form of AI called SAT can use hard-coded rules, and not the inscrutable interactions within a deep neural network, to solve problems beyond human reasoning. www.quantamagazine.org/to-have-mach...
To Have Machines Make Math Proofs, Turn Them Into a Puzzle | Quanta Magazine
Marijn Heule uses turns mathematical statements into something like Sudoku puzzles, then has computers go to work on them. His proofs have been called “disgusting,” but they go beyond what any human c...
www.quantamagazine.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
In a conversation with John Pavlus, Marijn Heule shares how a form of AI called SAT can use hard-coded rules, and not the inscrutable interactions within a deep neural network, to solve problems beyond human reasoning. www.quantamagazine.org/to-have-mach...
Archimedes, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein have all been linked to “eureka!” moments. Neuroscientists are studying what happens in the brain during these sudden insights. www.quantamagazine.org/how-your-bra...
November 9, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Archimedes, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein have all been linked to “eureka!” moments. Neuroscientists are studying what happens in the brain during these sudden insights. www.quantamagazine.org/how-your-bra...
Earlier this year, we released a special issue titled “The Unraveling of Space-Time.” We cover black holes, holograms, and “alien algebra.” Explore the series:
The Unraveling of Space-Time | Quanta Magazine
This special issue of Quanta Magazine explores the ultimate scientific quest: the search for the fundamental nature of reality.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Earlier this year, we released a special issue titled “The Unraveling of Space-Time.” We cover black holes, holograms, and “alien algebra.” Explore the series:
What is a particle? In one hypothetical answer, the properties of space-time — its robustness, its symmetries — essentially come from the way 0s and 1s are braided together. www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-pa...
November 9, 2025 at 4:46 PM
What is a particle? In one hypothetical answer, the properties of space-time — its robustness, its symmetries — essentially come from the way 0s and 1s are braided together. www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-pa...
The term “manifold” comes from “Mannigfaltigkeit,” which is German for “variety” or “multiplicity.” www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-ma...
November 8, 2025 at 9:04 PM
The term “manifold” comes from “Mannigfaltigkeit,” which is German for “variety” or “multiplicity.” www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-ma...
The sizes of shark species show that mathematical rules constrain evolution. www.quantamagazine.org/shark-data-s...
November 8, 2025 at 4:46 PM
The sizes of shark species show that mathematical rules constrain evolution. www.quantamagazine.org/shark-data-s...
Three words: pine, crab, sauce. There’s a fourth word that combines with the others to create another common word. What is it? When you finally get it, it may feel instantaneous. A recent study shows what happens in the brain during “aha” moments.
How Your Brain Creates ‘Aha’ Moments and Why They Stick | Quanta Magazine
A sudden flash of insight is a product of your brain. Neuroscientists track the neural activity underlying an “aha” and how it might boost memory.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 7, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Three words: pine, crab, sauce. There’s a fourth word that combines with the others to create another common word. What is it? When you finally get it, it may feel instantaneous. A recent study shows what happens in the brain during “aha” moments.
What distinguishes humanity? The answer has often come back to our language abilities. But some linguists think that eventually, AI will demonstrate an understanding of language that’s better than our own.
In a First, AI Models Analyze Language As Well As a Human Expert | Quanta Magazine
If language is what makes us human, what does it mean now that large language models have gained “metalinguistic” abilities?
www.quantamagazine.org
November 7, 2025 at 9:04 PM
What distinguishes humanity? The answer has often come back to our language abilities. But some linguists think that eventually, AI will demonstrate an understanding of language that’s better than our own.
Every cubic meter of air contains anywhere from 10 to 10 million microbes, depending on the altitude, location, season and time of day. At an observatory Watop Puy de Dôme, a 4,800-foot inactive volcano in France, microbiologists sample the aeromicrobiome.
Microbes Also Change the Climate. Could That Help Us? | Quanta Magazine
A collection of short dispatches from the field of climate microbiology conveys the contributions that single-celled life forms make to our climate system, and how we can work with them to address…
www.quantamagazine.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Every cubic meter of air contains anywhere from 10 to 10 million microbes, depending on the altitude, location, season and time of day. At an observatory Watop Puy de Dôme, a 4,800-foot inactive volcano in France, microbiologists sample the aeromicrobiome.
For the first time, physicists have formulated quantum theory without imaginary numbers, overturning a 2021 claim that these unreal numbers are essential for describing the quantum world.
www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-t...
www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-t...
Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics | Quanta Magazine
Quantum mechanics has at last been formulated exclusively with real numbers, bringing a mathematical puzzle at the heart of the theory into a new era of inquiry.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:16 PM
For the first time, physicists have formulated quantum theory without imaginary numbers, overturning a 2021 claim that these unreal numbers are essential for describing the quantum world.
www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-t...
www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-t...
In 2002, West Antarctica's Larsen B ice shelf suddenly collapsed. In this series of NASA satellite images, pools of meltwater are visible as parallel blue lines. The shelf soon disintegrated into slush and ice bergs that later drifted out to sea. www.quantamagazine.org/how-soon-wil...
November 6, 2025 at 9:04 PM
In 2002, West Antarctica's Larsen B ice shelf suddenly collapsed. In this series of NASA satellite images, pools of meltwater are visible as parallel blue lines. The shelf soon disintegrated into slush and ice bergs that later drifted out to sea. www.quantamagazine.org/how-soon-wil...
Glass is a mysterious substance. 🧵
November 6, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Glass is a mysterious substance. 🧵
These are Mooney images, research tools made by turning contrast up on images until they’re nearly unrecognizable. Recently, researchers used these images to study what happens in the brain during a sudden realization. Can you guess what they are?
November 6, 2025 at 7:45 PM
These are Mooney images, research tools made by turning contrast up on images until they’re nearly unrecognizable. Recently, researchers used these images to study what happens in the brain during a sudden realization. Can you guess what they are?
In a new book, one of the most radical thinkers in physics calls for scientists to embrace philosophy.
Carlo Rovelli’s Radical Perspective on Reality | Quanta Magazine
The theoretical physicist and best-selling author finds inspiration in politics and philosophy for rethinking space and time.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
In a new book, one of the most radical thinkers in physics calls for scientists to embrace philosophy.
The idea that depression stems primarily from a lack of serotonin has lost much of its support. Scientists are rethinking the causes — and definition — of the illness.
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think | Quanta Magazine
Depression has often been blamed on low levels of serotonin in the brain. That answer is insufficient, but alternatives are coming into view and changing our understanding of the disease.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 5, 2025 at 9:04 PM
The idea that depression stems primarily from a lack of serotonin has lost much of its support. Scientists are rethinking the causes — and definition — of the illness.
Recently, Gašper Beguš and his team put several large language models through a litany of tests — including having them generalize the rules of a made-up language. Most failed to match human linguistic ability. But one LLM greatly exceeded expectations. www.quantamagazine.org/in-a-first-a...
November 5, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Recently, Gašper Beguš and his team put several large language models through a litany of tests — including having them generalize the rules of a made-up language. Most failed to match human linguistic ability. But one LLM greatly exceeded expectations. www.quantamagazine.org/in-a-first-a...
A recent study shows what happens in our brains during a moment of insight. Nora Bradford reports: www.quantamagazine.org/how-your-bra...
How Your Brain Creates ‘Aha’ Moments and Why They Stick | Quanta Magazine
A sudden flash of insight is a product of your brain. Neuroscientists track the neural activity underlying an “aha” and how it might boost memory.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:17 PM
A recent study shows what happens in our brains during a moment of insight. Nora Bradford reports: www.quantamagazine.org/how-your-bra...
“So much of physics comes down to understanding geometry. And often in surprising ways.” —Jonathan Sorce, a theoretical physicist at Princeton University
What Is a Manifold? | Quanta Magazine
In the mid-19th century, Bernhard Riemann conceived of a new way to think about mathematical spaces, providing the foundation for modern geometry and physics.
www.quantamagazine.org
November 4, 2025 at 9:45 PM
“So much of physics comes down to understanding geometry. And often in surprising ways.” —Jonathan Sorce, a theoretical physicist at Princeton University
Loop quantum gravity has problems. Particle scattering seems to general infinite amounts of low-energy radiation. Solving the equations is extremely complicated. And there’s a lack of experimental support. But Carlo Rovelli sees hope on the horizon. www.quantamagazine.org/carlo-rovell...
November 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Loop quantum gravity has problems. Particle scattering seems to general infinite amounts of low-energy radiation. Solving the equations is extremely complicated. And there’s a lack of experimental support. But Carlo Rovelli sees hope on the horizon. www.quantamagazine.org/carlo-rovell...
At Peter Lake in Michigan, a team of ecologists forced the algae-ridden water to cross a tipping point by throwing a bunch of extra bass in the water. The dynamics of the lake’s ecosystem shifted dramatically, and the water became clear.
The Math of Climate Change Tipping Points | Quanta Magazine
Tipping points in our climate predictions are both wildly dramatic and wildly uncertain. Can mathematicians make them useful?
www.quantamagazine.org
November 4, 2025 at 4:46 PM
At Peter Lake in Michigan, a team of ecologists forced the algae-ridden water to cross a tipping point by throwing a bunch of extra bass in the water. The dynamics of the lake’s ecosystem shifted dramatically, and the water became clear.
To this theoretical physicist, time is not a basic ingredient of reality. www.quantamagazine.org/carlo-rovell...
November 3, 2025 at 9:04 PM
To this theoretical physicist, time is not a basic ingredient of reality. www.quantamagazine.org/carlo-rovell...