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.

In the recent past, you probably attended a virtual lunch-and-learn presentation, read an article, or had a discussion with a controls sales representative in which the topic was a chilled water plant ...

Many companies are searching for tools to help them hire diverse, productive workforces. Even if diversity is not the main hiring goal, they may want to ensure they’re not overlooking talented ...

Instagram is rolling out a new update that addresses a long-standing frustration among users. The Reels algorithm is finally becoming more transparent and customizable. Users can now manually select ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. If you’ve been making the same commute for a long time, you’ve probably settled on what seems like the best route. But “best” is a ...

Everyone seems to agree that social media has become a cesspit, with cancel-culture mobs enforcing ideological purity on one side and trolls spreading conspiracy theories on the other. X and Facebook ...

Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. TikTok’s algorithm, which shapes what more than a billion users see, has developed an almost mystical reputation for ...