Outreach

Chai and Why? "Commutators! A ridiculous (and fun!) way to hang pictures and solve Rubik's cubes" Ramprasad Saptharishi

Sunday, December 20, 2020 from to (Asia/Kolkata)
at ONLINE
Description
Chai and Why?
Sunday Dec. 20 2020
11 AM to 12:15 PM
On YouTube and Facebook Live
 
Commutators!
A ridiculous (and fun!) way to hang pictures and solve Rubik's cubes
 
Ramprasad Saptharishi, TIFR
 
Some of you may have encountered puzzles such as the Rubik's cube, 15-puzzle etc. where you have to move pieces to get to a specific "solved state". Some of you may know how to do this from any scramble.
 
In this session, we'll look at a concept that will help you construct a solution for most such puzzles. And this concept is called 'commutators'.  Through this Chai and Why, we shall see some fun applications of this concept via the Rubik's cube, and also see some weird ways to hang pictures on a wall!
 
About the Speaker: Ramprasad Saptharishi is a faculty member in the School of Technology and Computer Science who works in the field of "algebraic complexity". He prefers to think of his research as largely understanding the "symmetries" of other strange puzzles called "polynomials".
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/861732267914961
YouTube: https://youtu.be/DrQzq1mIgxE