Nature Mathematics

How do you measure the size of a black hole? The motion of individual particles at the subatomic level? The possible shape of space-time itself? In short: How do you mathematically describe the world around you? The answer lies in the fascinating ways mathematicians use geometry and topology to study and understand the shape of nature, whether leaf formations, DNA entanglements, or quantum fields. Mysterious, complex, and undeniably captivating, the study of the shape of nature lies at the forefront of current research in both mathematics and science.

Why has science so dramatically altered how we live and how we think about ourselves? What is the greatest scientific idea of all time? According to Professor Steven L. Goldman, one is tempted to speak of scientific discoveries as the source of science's power to be a driver of social change—that scientists have been discovering new truths about nature, and that the change follows from that. But I argue that it is scientific ideas that are responsible for this change. Ideas are the source of science's power—not discoveries."