These are not the kinds of objects that concern Scott Sheffield. Sheffield, a professor of mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studies shapes that are constructed by random ...

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones must find a secret chamber that contains the legendary Ark of the Covenant. To identify its exact location, Indy must uncover a special map that’s only ...

Mathematicians have had a hard time finding commonalities in large groups of random shapes — until recently. A pilot takes off from New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and flies in a straight line for ...