Steven Strogatz
Quanta Magazine
Ithaca, NY, United States
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Past articles by Steven:
What Is Quantum Field Theory and Why Is It Incomplete?
Quantum field theory may be the most successful scientific theory of all time, but there’s reason to think it’s missing something. Steven Strogatz speaks with theoretical physicist David Tong about this enigmatic theory. → Read More
Can Computers Be Mathematicians?
Artificial intelligence has bested humans at problem-solving challenges like chess and Go. Is mathematics research next? Steven Strogatz speaks with mathematician Kevin Buzzard to learn about the effort to translate math into language that computers understand. → Read More
Where Do Space, Time and Gravity Come From?
Einstein’s description of curved space-time doesn’t easily mesh with a universe made up of quantum wavefunctions. Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll discusses the quest for quantum gravity with host Steven Strogatz. → Read More
Why Is Inflammation a Dangerous Necessity?
The immune system protects us from a full spectrum of pathogens, but without balance, it can end up hurting us over time, too. The immunologist Shruti Naik explains how our defenses can turn on us. → Read More
Why Knots Matter in Math and Science
Knots can help unlock the biochemistry of DNA or the geometry of three-dimensional spaces. Steven Strogatz explores these mysteries with Colin Adams and Lisa Piccirillo. → Read More
Why Do We Die Without Sleep?
The reasons why sleep is so vital often hide in unexpected parts of the body, as host Steven Strogatz discovers in conversations with researchers Dragana Rogulja and Alex Keene. → Read More
How Infinite Series Reveal the Unity of Mathematics
Infinite sums are among the most underrated yet powerful concepts in mathematics, capable of linking concepts across math’s vast web. → Read More
Eve Marder on the Crucial Resilience of Neurons
Behaviors are sometimes described as being “hardwired,” but the work of the celebrated neuroscientist Eve Marder of Brandeis University has explored a crucial difference between neural circuits and engineered ones: Neurons need to be resilient in the face of their own ongoing biomolecular transformation. In this episode, host Steven Strogatz talks with Marder about “multiple solutions” as a key… → Read More
Charlie Marcus Knows That Quantum Facts Aren’t Complicated
The quantum physicist Charlie Marcus — a principal researcher at Microsoft Quantum Research and a professor at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen — is engaged in one of the most ambitious quests in modern technology: the creation of a true quantum computer. In this episode, Marcus talks with host Steven Strogatz about why facts are never complicated, what working in a music… → Read More
Amie Wilkinson Sees the Dynamic Chaos in Puff Pastry
Amie Wilkinson of the University of Chicago works in the rarefied area of mathematics called pure dynamics, studying how complex systems transform under the influence of simple rules. In this episode, she speaks with her fellow dynamicist, host Steven Strogatz, about the challenges of finding a place in mathematics as a woman, why groups can be understood as collections of moves, and what the… → Read More
Emery Brown and the Truth About Anesthesia
Anesthesia is very different from sleep — which is why it offers unique opportunities for studying the human brain, says the physician-researcher and statistician Emery Brown. → Read More
Melanie Mitchell Takes AI Research Back to Its Roots
To build a general artificial intelligence, we may need to know more about our own minds, argues the computer scientist Melanie Mitchell. → Read More
Trachette Jackson Fights Cancer With Math
Quantitative models built by the mathematical biologist Trachette Jackson can make cancer therapies safer and more effective. → Read More
Rediet Abebe on Using Algorithms for Social Justice
The computer scientist Rediet Abebe's passion for applied mathematics closely aligns with her passion to solve problems with poverty and social inequality. → Read More
Sharon Glotzer’s Deep Curiosity About Order From Chaos
The computational physicist Sharon Glotzer finds unifying principles that structure the chaotic dance of the particles that make up matter. → Read More
Frank Wilczek on the Strong Force, Quarks and Dark Matter
The theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek explained what holds atomic nuclei together, and he is still pushing at the limits of what the standard model can tell us. → Read More
Bonnie Bassler on Talkative Bacteria and Eavesdropping Viruses
The molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler is deciphering the chemical languages that bacteria use to coordinate their assaults on a host. → Read More
Neil Shubin on Tiktaalik, Ballistic Tongues and Evolution
The paleontologist Neil Shubin talks with host Steven Strogatz about hunting for a 375 million-year-old fossil and finding novel traits that evolved many times. → Read More
Cori Bargmann on the Genetics of Transparent Worms, Supertasters and Cancer
The neurogenetics pioneer Cori Bargmann speaks with host Steven Strogatz about why a transparent worm became her favorite animal and how a genetic discovery she → Read More
Tadashi Tokieda’s Special Kind of Magic
The mathematician Tadashi Tokieda and host Steven Strogatz explore what we can learn about the world from simple “toys” with remarkable physical or mathematical → Read More