MATH 383 - Topics in Mathematics

Credits: 3 in fall and winter, 4 in spring

Prerequisite: MATH 201, 221 or 222, but may vary with topic. Readings and conferences for a student or students on topics agreed upon with the directing staff. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Spring 2020, MATH 383-01:Topic: The Mathematics of Information (4). Prerequisites: MATH 201 and 222 or instructor consent. The modern world runs on information. Huge numbers of bits (0s and 1s) are passing invisibly through the wires and air around you right now. These bits encode various types of data including text, pictures, audio/video signals etc. In 1948, a pioneering paper by Claude Shannon founded a new research area– information theory–which, among other things, investigates the process of converting streams of symbols from one form to another and various associated questions that are still the focus of much modern research. For example, what is the most efficient way to go about encoding a stream of data so that it can be transmitted as quickly as possible over some channel or stored using a minimal amount of space? How can one build in redundancy so that errors due to noise (scratches on a CD/DVD, electromagnetic interference, etc.) can be detected and corrected? What should you do if privacy/secrecy is important? In this course, you will see how these sorts of questions can be formalized and addressed mathematically. Bush.

Spring 2020, MATH 383-03: Topic: Mathematics of Puzzles and Games (4). Prerequisite: MATH 321. An examination of some of the mathematics of the following ten games and puzzles: Rubik’s cube, Sam Lloyd’s 15 puzzle, Sudoku and similar puzzles, poker, blackjack, craps, twister, cribbage, darts, and peg solitaire. Six other games or puzzles chosen by the students are also examined. Dymàček.