Reflective symmetry is when a shape can be folded in half, with either side of the fold being a mirror image of the other. Rotational symmetry is when a shape can be rotated and it still looks the ...

We are fond of saying things are symmetric, but what does that really mean? Intuitively we have a sense of symmetry as a kind of mirroring. Suppose we draw a vertical line through the middle of a ...

Symmetry attracts us. Studies comparing people’s reactions to different faces have shown, for example, that they find highly symmetrical faces more attractive than less symmetrical faces. The symmetry ...

Symmetry is a powerful framework to perceive and predict the physical world. The structure of materials is described by a combination of rotations, rotation-inversions and translational symmetries. By ...

Mathematician Katie Steckles explains just why the proliferation of snowflake decorations this time of year is deeply annoying ...

Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens. Symmetry also has an aesthetic meaning, although this is ...

The 2008 Abel Prize was awarded to John Griggs Thompson of the University of Florida and Jacques Tits of the Collège de France for their contributions to group theory, the mathematical field that ...

This jingle has helped generations of algebra students recall the quadratic formula that solves every equation of the form $latex ax^2+bx+c=0$. The formula is as ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. If you want to fully describe how the Universe works at a fundamental ...