Alex Kowalewski Assignment 1

Math is commonly seen as very abstract, as if it has no application to anything in daily life if you haven't been taught to look at it that way. But math is all around us. While math can be used for anything from theoretical research or data analysis, it can also be used for things such as magic tricks. While not all magic tricks utilize math, there are many ways that it can be applied to different acts, such as card tricks, that create the illusion of magic. The math behind these tricks is not easily recognizable, so it almost seems like the magician used some power to make the trick happen. In reality, their power was just understanding a little bit of math and working it in with their ability to make the trick look smooth.
A commonly seen card trick that could involve math is a card guessing trick. A professor in an applicable algebra class once did a demonstration of this. By removing some of the cards of the deck, and setting up a system of repetition, the deck could be cut and using modular division, he could successfully guess which card the next student had based on the one before it.
While math and magic aren't necessarily the same, they can be blended together to create some pretty impressive tricks. Math has a much broader application than many think, it is just a matter of finding different ways to use it.