The Markov numbers reveal the secrets of irrational numbers and the patterns of the Fibonacci sequence. But there’s one question about them that has resisted proof ...

Whenever you look at a clock, do you always see the same time? It might be 11:11 or 3:33. Maybe repeating numbers have made their way into other aspects of your life, such as a receipt that totaled ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

What’re the odds? Luck? Coincidence? Florida, California, Mega Millions lottery drawings had 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 16, 17, 18, 19 ...

In the real world, probability is a tough thing to characterize. If I roll a die, what does it mean to say that it has a one-sixth chance of coming up 5? We say that the outcome is random because we ...

What is your favorite number? For many people, it may be an irrational number such as pi (π), Euler’s number (e) or the square root of 2. Even among the natural numbers (positive integers), there are ...

You glance at your phone: 11:11. Your coffee costs $11.11. A license plate reads 111. If these repeating digits keep catching your eye, you might be wondering if there’s more to it than chance.

As their results began to crystallize, at first they didn’t notice the striking patterns emerging. But a colleague who reviewed their work spotted the famed Fibonacci numbers—a list whose entries have ...

Anthony Bonato does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...