Shidoku: A Crash Course on Ideals and Varieties

Abstract

It turns out that algebra is more than just x’s and torturing high school students. Algebra has been used to solve problems from biology, physics, and economics. In this talk, I’ll walk through an example of using algebra to solve a slightly less ambitious problem: a 4 by 4 sudoku puzzle. We’ll develop all the tools used to solve the big problems, too.