Gallery: Meet the Guy Who Sorts All the World's Numbers in His Attic

  • Image may contain Human Person and Furniture
    John Smock for Quanta Magazine
    01

    Sloane-1k-640x416

    Neil Sloane curates the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) from his attic home office in Highland Park, N.J.
  • Image may contain Furniture Desk Table Human Person Chair Wood Indoors Housing Building Tabletop and Office
    John Smock for Quanta Magazine
    02

    Sloane01-1k-640x416

    Formerly a children's playroom, the attic is filled with giant stacks of papers containing number sequence submissions from all over the world.
  • Image may contain Furniture Electronics Computer Hardware Keyboard Computer Computer Keyboard Hardware Pc and Laptop
    John Smock for Quanta Magazine
    03

    Sloane24-1k-640x416

    The OEIS, which began in 1964 as a stack of handwritten index cards, now contains more than a quarter of a million difference sequences of numbers that arise in different mathematical contexts.
  • Image may contain Furniture Indoors Human Person Shelf Bookcase Room Book Bookstore Shop Library and Chair
    John Smock for Quanta Magazine
    04

    Sloane31-1k-640x416

    Over the course of a more than 40-year research career at Bell Labs (later AT&T Labs), the 75-year-old Welsh native has won numerous awards for papers in the fields of combinatorics, coding theory, optics, and statistics.
  • Image may contain Text Human Person Book Workshop Furniture Desk Table Plywood Wood Electronics and Computer
    John Smock for Quanta Magazine
    05

    Sloane22-1k-640x416

    Sloane has personally created entries for more than 170,000 sequences.
Read More
US Special Forces Soldier Arrested for Polymarket Bets on Maduro Raid
The master sergeant allegedly used classified intel to profit on the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, marking the first US arrest for insider trading on a prediction market.
Kate Knibbs
Newly Deciphered Sabotage Malware May Have Targeted Iran’s Nuclear Program—and Predates Stuxnet
Researchers have finally cracked Fast16, mysterious code capable of silently tampering with calculation and simulation software. It was created in 2005—and likely deployed by the US or an ally.
Andy Greenberg
Rednote Draws a Line Between China and the World
As the platform expands abroad, it’s taking steps to separate Chinese users from the international audiences it once brought together.
Zeyi Yang
Apple’s Next Chapter, SpaceX and Cursor Strike a Deal, and Palantir’s Controversial Manifesto
In this week’s episode of Uncanny Valley, we talk about Tim Cook’s legacy as CEO at Apple and what his long-rumored departure means for the future of one of the world's biggest companies.
Brian Barrett
At 'AI Coachella,' Stanford Students Line Up to Learn From Silicon Valley Royalty
CS 153 has gone viral on the Palo Alto campus—and on X. Not everyone is happy about it.
Maxwell Zeff
Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They're the Bad Guys
Interviews with current and former Palantir employees, along with internal Slack messages obtained by WIRED, suggest a workforce in turmoil.
Makena Kelly
This Is the Only Office Lamp That Does Double Duty on My Nightstand
Portable lamps are rarely, if ever, as powerful, precise, and multipurpose as the Lume Cube Edge Light Go.
Matthew Korfhage
These New Smart Glasses From Ex-OnePlus Engineers Have a Hidden Cost
The Kickstarter-funded glasses from L'Atitude 52°N have AI features bundled for one year, but the company doesn't know yet how much it will charge for access after that.
Boone Ashworth
The Best Pool-Cleaning Robots for a Truly Automated Summer
Send the pool guy packing. One of these robotic buddies can maintain your water quality instead.
Christopher Null
The Best Fitbit Models for Every Lifestyle
The fitness trackers I'd recommend to beginners, athletes, and kids.
Boutayna Chokrane
Robot Vacuums That Don't Suck (Unless It's Dirt)
Tired of vacuuming? Hand the reins to a robot vacuum.
Nena Farrell
They Made D4vd a Star. Now They Want Him Convicted of Murder
A legion of young fans propelled the singer D4vd to viral fame. Now that he’s been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, they say the clues were in their Discord all along.
Jennifer Swann