2026-04-22
21 分钟Have you ever wondered what's the best glass shape to drink beer out of?
And why do elevators always seem to be going the opposite direction when you need them the most?
And how are you supposed to cut pizza fairly if the toppings are all in different places?
These questions and many more can be answered with math.
Hi, I'm Andrea Garleski and I'm in charge of all newsletters here at Scientific American.
We have a new weekly newsletter called Proof Positive.
It's about the math that can help you answer questions like these and many other mysteries of life.
Plus, it rounds up the latest math news and has a puzzle to challenge your mind.
Go to scientificamerican. com slash newsletters to sign up.
For Scientific American Science Quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman.
And today, in honor of Earth Day, we 're going to talk about why you should actually
be excited about our planet's future.
Yeah, really.
At Scientific American, we 're very aware that most folks do n't need a calendar reminder
to make them think about issues like pollution and climate change.
You probably read or listen to news stories about the environment more days than not.
After all, we're often the ones reporting and publishing them.
And most of those stories probably don't make you feel like celebrating at all.
But while it 's true that our planet's environmental outlook is in many ways extremely dire,
giving in to despair simply is n't an option.