The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Imagine a town with two widget merchants. Customers prefer cheaper widgets, so the merchants must compete to set the lowest price.

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. A new bill would hold social media platforms responsible for foreseeable algorithmic harms. A new bill would hold ...

Media personalities and online influencers who sow social division for a living, blame the rise of assassination culture on Antifa and MAGA. Meanwhile, tech CEOs gin up fears of an AI apocalypse. But ...

All of modern mathematics is built on the foundation of set theory, the study of how to organize abstract collections of objects. But in general, research mathematicians don’t need to think about it ...

Thomas Lincoln and Sarah Bush Lincoln—Abraham’s father and stepmother—are buried at Shiloh Cemetery just south of town, offering a quiet reminder that even legendary presidents came from regular ...