“I didn’t allow myself to work on it during the day,” she said, “because I didn’t consider it to be real math. I thought it was, like, my homework.” The question asked whether the Conway knot—a snarl ...

When faced with an unsolvable problem, you are said to face a “Gordian knot,” a rope that is tied so intricately or tangled so completely that it is impossible to untie. If you dive a little deeper ...

This video shows how two basic knots can quickly and effectively solve a simple, real-world problem. Learn when to use each knot, why they work, and how these practical skills can save time in ...

Unravelling knots just got easier. One of the biggest problems in the mathematical study of knots is recognising the difference between an actual knot and a piece of string that can be untangled into ...

The first part of this article looked at trying to solve problems that appear to be impossible. The old saying “When all you have is a hammer everything starts to look like a nail” can be turned ...