Event Series
Event Type
Seminar
Friday, November 5, 2021 11:30 AM

Our speaker this week will be Persi Diaconis:

Title: Adding numbers and shuffling cards

Abstract: When ordinary integers are added in the usual way, 'carries' occur along the way. How do the carries go? They turn out to form an 'AMAZING matrix' (?). This same matrix occurs in the usual method of riffle shuffling cards and I will explain the 'seven shuffles theorem.' It turns out the same matrix appears in taking sections of power series, understanding the Veronese embedding and in the analysis of fractals. AND, there are extensions (carries are cocycles). Maybe it's a pretty amazing matrix after all.