Questions tagged [applications]

Applications of mathematics to any field inside or outside mathematics

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
193 votes
30 answers
77k views

Real-world applications of mathematics, by arxiv subject area?

What are the most important applications outside of mathematics of each of the major fields of mathematics? For concreteness, let's divide up mathematics according to arxiv mathematics categories, e.g....
143 votes
24 answers
18k views

Occurrences of (co)homology in other disciplines and/or nature

I am curious if the setup for (co)homology theory appears outside the realm of pure mathematics. The idea of a family of groups linked by a series of arrows such that the composition of consecutive ...
106 votes
15 answers
35k views

Most striking applications of category theory?

What are the most striking applications of category theory? I'm trying to motivate deeper study of category theory and I have only come across the following significant examples: Joyal's ...
92 votes
14 answers
14k views

Deep learning / Deep neural nets for mathematician

I am interested in finding out the math ideas behind the technologies that are under the umbrella of "Deep Learning" or "Deep neural nets". Most of the papers/books that are often quoted in papers/...
82 votes
30 answers
68k views

Applications of the Chinese remainder theorem

As the title suggests I am interested in CRT applications. Wikipedia article on CRT lists some of the well known applications (e.g. used in the RSA algorithm, used to construct an elegant Gödel ...
78 votes
12 answers
94k views

What practical applications does set theory have?

I am a non-mathematician. I'm reading up on set theory. It's fascinating, but I wonder if it's found any 'real-world' applications yet. For instance, in high school when we were learning the ...
user2929's user avatar
  • 799
77 votes
11 answers
13k views

Applications of mathematics

All of us have probably been exposed to questions such as: "What are the applications of group theory...". This is not the subject of this MO question. Here is a little newspaper article that I found ...
47 votes
15 answers
28k views

What are the applications of hypergraphs?

Hypergraphs are like simple graphs, except that instead of having edges that only connect 2 vertices, their edges are sets of any number of vertices. This happens to mean that all graphs are just a ...
47 votes
15 answers
14k views

How does the work of a pure mathematician impact society? [closed]

First, I will explain my situation. In my University most of the careers are doing videos to explain what we do and try to attract more people to our careers. I am in a really bad position, because ...
44 votes
2 answers
5k views

Applications of Lawvere's fixed point theorem

Lawvere's fixed point theorem states that in a cartesian closed category, if there is a morphism $A \to X^A$ which is point-surjective (meaning that $\hom(1,A) \to \hom(1,X^A)$ is surjective), then ...
Martin Brandenburg's user avatar
41 votes
12 answers
7k views

Recent Applications of Mathematics

What are the recent and new applications of Mathematics in other Sciences ? Let me try to be more precise about the question: By "recent" I mean the last 15 years. By "new" I want to exclude the ...
40 votes
4 answers
5k views

Is algebraic geometry constructive?

Notes: 1) I know next to nothing about algebraic geometry, although I am greatly interested in the field. 2) I realize that "constructive" might be a technical term, here I am using it only in an ...
Bence Racskó's user avatar
38 votes
4 answers
4k views

Interesting and surprising applications of the Ising Model

One of the most famous models in physics is the Ising model, invented by Wilhelm Lenz as a PhD problem to his student Ernst Ising. The one-dimensional version of it was solved in Ising's thesis in ...
JustWannaKnow's user avatar
37 votes
17 answers
10k views

Listing applications of the SVD

The SVD (singular value decomposition) is taught in many linear algebra courses. It's taken for granted that it's important. I have helped teach a linear algebra course before, and I feel like I need ...
36 votes
11 answers
7k views

What "real life" problems can be solved using billiards?

Recently I gave an interview to local media where I explained some basic open problems in billiard dynamics. After a 45 min interview the reported asked me what "real life" problems can be ...
Ferran V.'s user avatar
  • 627
36 votes
8 answers
16k views

Practical applications of algebraic number theory?

I'm interested in learning about any applications, the more worldly the better*. Pointing to a nice reference on the number field sieve, for example, would be fine. However, let me mention one ...
35 votes
26 answers
5k views

Examples of mathematics motivated by technological considerations

I would like examples of technological advances that were made possible only by the creation of new mathematics. I'm talking about technology that was desired in some period of history but for which ...
35 votes
19 answers
9k views

Interesting applications (in pure mathematics) of first-year calculus

What interesting applications are there for theorems or other results studied in first-year calculus courses? A good example for such an application would be using a calculus theorem to prove a ...
35 votes
14 answers
4k views

Where have you used computer programming in your career as an (applied/pure) mathematician?

For background: I'm working on a book to help mathematicians learn how to program. However, I need to see some examples from people in the field that have done different kinds of things than I have. ...
33 votes
21 answers
11k views

Applications of finite continued fractions

I know some applications of finite continued fractions. Probably you know more. Can you add anything? (For Applications of periodic continued fractions I have made a special topic.) 1) (Trivial) ...
33 votes
8 answers
11k views

How is differential geometry used in immediate industrial applications and what are some sources to learn about it?

Intuitively it might be clear that differential geometry is a very applicable subject in engineering and industry. I'd like to know how some industries/companies use differential geometry. I'd guess ...
31 votes
17 answers
14k views

Applications of Brouwer's fixed point theorem

I'm presenting Brouwer's fixed point theorem to an audience that knows some point-set topology. Does anyone have any zippy / enlightening / cool applications or consequences of it? So far, I have: ...
30 votes
7 answers
6k views

Applications of mathematics in clinical setting

What are some examples of successful mathematical attempts in clinical setting, specifically at the patient-disease-drug level? To clarify, by patient-disease-drug level, I mean the mathematical work ...
30 votes
4 answers
4k views

Elementary applications of Krein-Milman

This is a cross-post from MSE: Elementary applications of Krein-Milman. I'm starting to suspect that the question just doesn't really have a great answer, it's worth a try. Recall that the Krein-...
29 votes
20 answers
7k views

Mathematics and cancer research

What are applications of mathematics in cancer research? Unfortunately, I heard quite little about applications of mathematics, but I heard something about applications of physics, and let me put this ...
28 votes
11 answers
7k views

Does the Axiom of Choice (or any other "optional" set theory axiom) have real-world consequences? [closed]

Or another way to put it: Could the axiom of choice, or any other set-theoretic axiom/formulation which we normally think of as undecidable, be somehow empirically testable? If you have a particular ...
DoubleJay's user avatar
  • 2,353
27 votes
4 answers
3k views

Algebra and cancer research

Let me start by acknowledging the existence of this thread: Mathematics and cancer research It is well-known that mathematical modeling and computational biology are effective tools in cancer research....
Jeff H's user avatar
  • 1,412
25 votes
7 answers
8k views

Applications of group theory to mathematical biology (pharmacology)

Are there applications of group theory — broadly, say, representation theory, Lie algebras, $q$-groups, etc — to mathematical biology? In particular, I am interested in applications to pharmacology — ...
25 votes
5 answers
2k views

Sperner Lemma Applications

I was always fascinated with this result. Sperner's lemma is a combinatorial result which can prove some pretty strong facts, as Brouwer fixed point theorem. I know at least another application of ...
25 votes
0 answers
1k views

Caramello's theory: applications

In this text, the author says (well, he says it in French, but I am too lazy to fix all the accents, so here is a Google translation): In any case, contemporary mathematics provides an example of ...
user avatar
24 votes
6 answers
4k views

Research in applied algebraic geometry that essentially needs a background of modern algebraic geometry at Hartshorne's level

By applied algebraic geometry, I don't mean applications of algebraic geometry to pure mathematics or super-pure theoretical physics. Not number theory, representation theory, algebraic topology,...
No One's user avatar
  • 1,553
22 votes
3 answers
1k views

Applications of topological and diferentiable stacks

What are some examples of theorems about topology or differential geometry that have been proven using topological/differentiable stacks, or, some examples of proofs made easier by them? I'm well ...
David Carchedi's user avatar
21 votes
10 answers
5k views

Applications of infinite Ramsey's Theorem (on N)?

Finite Ramsey's theorem is a very important combinatorial tool that is often used in mathematics. The infinite version of Ramsey's theorem (Ramsey's theorem for colorings of tuples of natural numbers) ...
alexod's user avatar
  • 757
21 votes
8 answers
11k views

Nice applications of the spectral theorem?

Most books and courses on linear algebra or functional analysis present at least one version of the spectral theorem (either in finite or infinite dimension) and emphasize its importance to many ...
Mark's user avatar
  • 4,824
20 votes
6 answers
3k views

What are some nice uses of ultraproducts/ultrapowers?

Motivated by a recent post (Non-definability of graph 3-colorability in first-order logic), I was wondering: what are some nice arguments based on ultraproducts? I don't mind definability results, but ...
20 votes
11 answers
4k views

Algebraic geometry used "externally" (in problems without obvious algebraic structure).

This is a request for a list of examples of problems (or other mathematical situations) that are not initially of algebro-geometric nature, but can be solved or understood by using algebraic geometry. ...
20 votes
5 answers
2k views

Examples of research on how people perceive mathematical objects

What examples are there on research related to human perception and mathematical objects? For example, the shape of a beer glass influences drinking habits, since people are bad at integrating. ...
Per Alexandersson's user avatar
20 votes
6 answers
2k views

Signal processing reference for pure mathematician

Before giving a more detailed question below, the basic one is: can anyone recommend a good signal-processing reference which would be maximally readable by a pure mathematician (who nevertheless ...
Pure mathematician's user avatar
19 votes
4 answers
2k views

Applications of complex exponential

In calculus we learn about many applications of real exponentials like $e^x$ for bacteria growth, radioactive decay, compound interest, etc. These are very simple and direct applications. My question ...
Max's user avatar
  • 199
19 votes
4 answers
1k views

Applications of linear programming duality in combinatorics

So, I know that one can apply the strong LP duality theorem to specific instances of maximum flow problems to recover some nontrivial theorems in combinatorics, such as Hall's theorem, Koenig's ...
amakelov's user avatar
  • 987
18 votes
3 answers
2k views

Applications of and motivation for von Neumann's mean ergodic theorem

I stated von Neumann's mean ergodic theorem (VNMET) in a talk recently and someone in the audience asked what it was good for. The only application I knew of VNMET was to prove Birkhoff's ergodic ...
Quinn Culver's user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
2k views

Applications of visual calculus

Mamikon's visual calculus (see Mamikon, Tom Apostol, Wikipedia) is a very beautiful and surprisingly efficient tool. The basis is Mamikon's theorem. The area of a tangent sweep is equal to the area ...
15 votes
4 answers
6k views

Mathematicians learning from applications to other fields

Once upon a time a speaker at the weekly Applied Mathematics Colloquium at MIT (one of two weekly colloquia in the math department (but the other one is not called "pure")) said researchers ...
15 votes
9 answers
2k views

Tools from other disciplines useful to mathematics research?

Obviously, mathematics provides essential tools for physicists, biologists, economists, engineers and many others to use in their research. Equally obviously, physics, biology, economy and engineering ...
15 votes
4 answers
4k views

Robotics, Cryptography, and Genetics applications of Grothendieck's work? [closed]

I was reading about the passing of Alexander Grothendieck, and something caught my interest: Mr. Grothendieck was able to answer concrete questions about these relationships by finding universal ...
Tring Vu's user avatar
  • 311
15 votes
5 answers
1k views

Longest increasing subsequence as measure of randomness

Although I am by no means an applied mathematician, I like to occasionally explain applications of the math I teach to real world problems. Right now I am teaching some students about longest ...
Sam Hopkins's user avatar
  • 22.9k
15 votes
5 answers
4k views

Applications of space filling curves

I am seeking articles where a space filling curve has been used as a theoretical application, such as in the study of general orthogonal polynomials.
14 votes
1 answer
612 views

Application for Morse-Smale systems

All my life I do topological classification of Morse-Smale systems (flows and cascades). Today, fundamental science is not in fashion, to receive grants require an application. Can you please tell ...
Olga's user avatar
  • 179
14 votes
1 answer
2k views

Which journals publish applied mathematics with mostly pure mathematics content?

In the spirit of Which journals publish expository work? please advise: What consistently high quality journals (1) today publish results that would otherwise go to a pure mathematics journal were ...
Gottfried William's user avatar
13 votes
6 answers
7k views

Applications of commutative algebra

Hi. I'm preparing a thesis in commutative algebra, and when I say this to my friends they always ask me what are the applications to "real-world", and I don't know what to answer. This let me think ...