Solomon Adams is a freelance journalist who covers mathematics, culture and other topics. He graduated from Yale University in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in math and philosophy.

In the late 19th century, Karl Weierstrass invented a fractal-like function that was decried as nothing less than a “deplorable evil.” In time, it would transform the foundations of mathematics.

Individual cells in the brain light up for specific ideas. These concept neurons, once known as “Jennifer Aniston cells,” ...