Abstract, pure math — solving disembodied equations filled with x’s and y’s — can often seem boring. Creative math teachers commonly try to come up with concrete, real-world examples to motivate ...

What is pure mathematics? What do pure mathematicians do? Why is pure mathematics important? These are questions I’m often confronted with when people discover I do pure mathematics. I always manage ...

Lek-Heng Lim longs for a renaissance that would reunite pure and applied mathematics. He points out that the distinction, which in modern math appears to be elemental, is in fact recent. “This break ...