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Careers with maths
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From satellites to the London Olympics, all in one career

A favourite from the archive...
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Discover why the number 6174 is so mysterious.

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September 2008
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Russell's Paradox

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Tags: set theory : foundations of mathematics : Barber's Paradox : Russell's Paradox : Theory of Types : Zermelo-Fraenkel axiomatisation of set theory


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For millennia, puzzles and paradoxes have forced mathematicians to continually rethink their ideas of what proofs actually are. Jon Walthoe explains the tricks involved and how great thinkers like Pythagoras, Newton and Gödel tackled the problems.

Tags: proof : axiom : calculus : Russell's Paradox : rational number : irrational number : paradox : gödel's incompleteness theorem : deduction : induction


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What's the nature of infinity? Are all infinities the same? And what happens if you've got infinitely many infinities? In this article Richard Elwes explores how these questions brought triumph to one man and ruin to another, ventures to the limits of mathematics and finds that, with infinity, you're spoilt for choice.

Tags: history of mathematics : axiom : logic : set theory : Russell's Paradox : Zermelo-Fraenkel axiomatisation of set theory : infinity : axiom of choice