Hunter Nuckols - Assignment 1

     I feel that math is the greatest of all the subjects, not necessarily because how much I like it, but because it is the universal language upon which all the sciences are based.  I find it amazing that can be used to describe almost anything using weights and measures, geometry, frequency, or what have you.  Then, these descriptions, in many, many cases, can be broken down to give even more detail or an explaination of why or how things occurred.  That is why I enjoy math as much as I do, because it gives a feeling of awe when a solution is reached or revealed, followed by the sense of wonderment of how far and deep the mathematical relationships can go.

     To me, magic is the artful use of math to entertain and deceive, in a sense.  I feel that math and magic are the same only in the sense that they both require a precise methodology and structure to reach a fantastic conclusion.  Other than that, I feel that magic is the calculated use of math, or more precisely, the understanding of probabilities, influences on those probabilities, and their manipulation to reach a desired outcome that seems all too improbable.

     The trick we learned in class where a deck of cards is cut multiple times, then shuffled, and the cards then turned up in alternating colors was great.  This completely debunked my idea that magic, card tricks in particular, is just the understanding of probabilities and relationships.  Instead, I was shown that they involve a deeper understanding of mathematical principles, especially in the abstract areas such as number theory, set theory and logic, and modern algebra.  I bet there are great uses of topology in magic as well, but I’m unsure how exactly at this point.  The more I think about it the more I realize that math can be used in many more ways than I had previously thought.  One could potentially use ideas of risk aversion, optimization, game theory, geometry,  etc. when performing a trick.