These talks will be self-contained presentations of mathematical concepts and theorems. They are intended to be accessible to all mathematics students.
 
 

2004 marks the 30^th anniversary of the invention of arguably the most successful puzzle ever produced - the 3 × 3 × 3 Rubik's cube. We begin by counting the 43,252,003,274,479,856,000 positions of the cube. After this we use the Rubik's cube to introduce some of the basice concepts in the mathematical topic of group theory. Finally, by thinking of the cube in terms of group theory, we shall demonstrate one method of solving the final layer given that two layers are already completed. We intend the interested student to be able to leave this talk with a way of thinking about the cube by which thay can find their own solution.

Convenor: Matthew Ovens