Model Identifies the Exact Threshold for Optimal Ambition

Summary: A collaborative mathematical study reconciled conflicting pieces of cultural advice by mapping the exact parameters of human ambition. The research utilizes sequential search modeling to prove that optimal success…

Mathematical Rule for How Social Norms Click

Summary: How does a group of strangers settle on a shared habit or workplace norm? A new study suggests it isn’t through imitation or complex calculation. Instead, researchers found that…

The Risky Brain: Unraveling the Neural Codes of Lottery Choices

Summary: Researchers pinpointed a key brain region in rats that determines their economic decisions when facing lottery-like uncertainties. The frontal orienting field (FOF) was identified as a major player in…

How geometry solves architectural problems for bees and wasps

Honeybees and yellow jackets don’t look much like mathematicians — for one thing, they’re smaller. But collectively, the insects can solve a common architectural conundrum using a geometric solution that…