Adventures in group theory : Rubik's cube, Merlin's machine, and other mathematical toys
"David Joyner uses mathematical toys such as the Rubik's Cube to make abstract algebra and group theory fun. Joyner employs permutation puzzles such as the 15 puzzle, the Rainbow Masterball, the Pyraminx, the Skewb, the Megaminx, Merlin's Machine, and variants of the Rubik's Cube to explain topics in introductory algebra (matrices, combinatorics, and permutations) and group theory (Cayley graphs, symmetries, isomorphisms, wreath products, free groups, and finite fields). Joyner also offers strategies for solving the puzzles. The updated second edition uses SAGE, an open-source computer algebra system, to illustrate many of the computations. Adventures in Group Theory not only appeals to math enthusiasts but also makes a wonderful supplementary textbook."--Publisher's description
eBook, English, 2008
2nd ed., Updated and rev. ed View all formats and editions
Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2008
Puzzles and games
1 online resource (xv, 310 pages) : illustrations
9780801897269, 0801897262
542384209
Elementary, my dear Watson
'And you do addition?'
Bell ringing and other permutations
A procession of permutation puzzles
What's commutative and purple?
Welcome to the machine
'God's algorithm' and graphs
Symmetry and the Platonic solids
The illegal cube group
Words which move
The (legal) Rubik's cube group
Squares, two-faces, and other subgroups
Other Rubik-like puzzle groups
Crossing the Rubicon
Some solution strategies
Coda: Questions and other directions
Electronic reproduction, [Place of publication not identified], HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010