Van der Waerden’s conjecture mystified mathematicians for 85 years. Its solution shows how polynomial roots relate to one another. The equation x 2 – 5 = 0 is a bit trickier. The polynomial can’t be ...

New work establishes a tighter connection between the rank of a polynomial and the extent to which it favors particular outputs. When you deposit a quarter and turn the crank on a gumball machine, the ...