Benjamin Skuse
All Posts by Benjamin Skuse
Calculus of Variations – Part 1 of 2: Give It a Wiggle
It is an important field of mathematical analysis, is central to our understanding of reality and the universe, and has been applied extensively in the design and development of the essential technologies and products we use today. But few know the story of the calculus of variations. Read more
Cryptography: Taking on Any Adversary
At the 11th Heidelberg Laureate Forum, Yael Tauman Kalai not only revealed how cryptography has become central to providing trust in computation, but also highlighted the opportunities and risks the field faces in keeping one step ahead of hostile adversaries. Read more
Blurring the Lines between Discrete and Continuous Mathematics
Global or local? Linear or nonlinear? Deterministic or stochastic? There are many ways to slice up mathematics. But perhaps one of the most informative is the distinction and parallels between discrete and continuous mathematics, argued László Lovász during the 11th Heidelberg Laureate Forum. Read more
A New Take on the Navier–Stokes Equations
The Navier–Stokes equations are used in applications ranging from describing how water flows through a garden hose to predicting the weather. Yet despite this ubiquity and maturity, mathematicians’ understanding of these equations remains primitive. Novel approaches are needed to discover just how closely the Navier–Stokes equations describe real-world fluid flow. Read more
Qubit Contenders
Microsoft says that a quantum computer capable of solving challenging scientific and commercial problems will ultimately require at least one million stable qubits that can perform one quintillion operations. But there are literally dozens of highly promising ways to build a qubit. Is there a qubit out there that Goldilocks would judge to be ‘just right’? Read more