mathematics

Crossing paths with Descartes

31 May, 2025

Lately I've been thinking about really fun solutions. You know, those solutions which use some insight you were completely unaware of and make it all look like magic. With the help of a classic Australian thriller novel, a dice game from early modern Britain, and Beethoven, I'll explore some foundations of an area of mathematics called combinatorics.

A collage of images from the post. Colorful marbles arranged in a grid, cookies in the shape of letters spelling out ATG, colorful magnetic cubes with axes drawn against it.