Hey folks, Zach McCann here with your weekly tech rundown. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways—at least until someone makes them better. That’s exactly what’s happening with a mathematical tool that Isaac Newton developed way back in the 1680s. Talk about staying power!
So here’s the deal: Newton came up with this algorithm that helps find the minimum values of functions. Now, I know that sounds like boring math-speak, but stick with me. This is actually super important for solving real-world problems like figuring out where to build airline hubs, maximizing your investment returns, and even helping self-driving cars tell the difference between a traffic light and a stop sign.
The genius of Newton’s method is its simplicity. Think of it like trying to find the lowest point in a hilly landscape while blindfolded. You just need to know if you’re going uphill or downhill and if the slope is getting steeper or flatter. With just those two pieces of information, you can eventually work your way to the bottom of the valley.
But—and this is a big but—Newton’s method has its limitations. It doesn’t work well on all types of functions. That’s where our modern-day math heroes come in.
Last summer, three researchers (Amir Ali Ahmadi from Princeton University, Abraar Chaudhry from Georgia Tech, and Jeffrey Zhang from Yale) announced a major upgrade to Newton’s method. They’ve expanded it to work efficiently on a much broader range of functions than ever before.
“Newton’s method has 1,000 different applications in optimization,” Ahmadi said. “Potentially our algorithm can replace it.”
Now, I’m not going to pretend I understand all the technical details here. Math was never my strong suit—just ask my high school algebra teacher! But I can appreciate the significance. When something that’s been used for 300 years gets a meaningful upgrade, that’s worth paying attention to.
The researchers figured out how to use Newton’s core insight—that you can approximate complicated functions with simpler quadratic equations—and extend it to work on functions that previously would have broken the algorithm.
What’s really cool about this is how it connects the distant past to our digital future. Think about it: Newton was working by candlelight with quill and paper, and now his ideas are being used to develop self-driving cars and optimize financial portfolios worth billions of dollars.
The practical applications are almost endless. Every day, researchers are searching for optimal solutions to incredibly complex problems. These problems involve dozens or even hundreds of variables that interact in complicated ways. Trying to solve them directly would be like trying to find a needle in a mathematical haystack.
But with Newton’s method—and now its enhanced version—we can find approximate solutions quickly and efficiently. This is huge for fields like machine learning, where finding the optimal parameters for a model can make the difference between an AI that works and one that doesn’t.
Of course, there’s a part of me that wonders what Newton would think of all this. Would he be amazed that we’re still using his ideas? Or would he just shrug and say, “Of course you are—I was Isaac Newton, after all!”
Either way, it’s a reminder that great ideas never really go out of style. They just get updated for new challenges and new technologies.
So next time you’re using Google Maps to find the fastest route home, or watching a recommendation algorithm suggest your next Netflix binge, remember that somewhere in the background, a 300-year-old mathematical technique might be helping make it all happen.
That’s it for this week’s tech recap. Until next time, keep looking for those optimal solutions in your own life—and remember, sometimes the best way forward is to stand on the shoulders of giants. Even if those giants have been dead for centuries.
