The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Imagine a town with two widget merchants. Customers prefer cheaper widgets, so the merchants must compete to set the lowest price.

All of modern mathematics is built on the foundation of set theory, the study of how to organize abstract collections of objects. But in general, research mathematicians don’t need to think about it ...

When your system suddenly stops responding, the first thing to do is to wait a minute. Rebooting is useful, as it clears temporary files, refreshes system memory, and resolves a surprising number of ...

Good morning. It’s wonderful to be with you here in Frankfurt. In our interconnected global economy, it’s important to have opportunities like this to learn from the perspectives and experiences of ...

ClickFix attacks have evolved to feature videos that guide victims through the self-infection process, a timer to pressure targets into taking risky actions, and automatic detection of the operating ...

AI is the most high-profile area of technology investment for global CIOs this year, according to 42% of respondents in Foundry’s recent State of the CIO 2025 survey. Interest is pervasive across all ...

A mathematical proof has finally debunked the idea that we live in a simulation, according to a group of international researchers. The theory that the universe could be a computer programme has been ...

America’s grand strategy is in turmoil. Over the past decade, power shifts, territorial disputes, and the faltering of international institutions have fueled an increasingly heated debate about what ...

Physicists present evidence that the universe is not a computer simulation. Credit: Amanclos / CC BY 2.0 / Flickr A team of physicists has presented new mathematical evidence that challenges the ...