Pradeep Mutalik

Puzzle Columnist

Latest Articles

Solution: ‘Which Forecasts Are True?’

October 26, 2016

Aside from potential clues gleaned from a fluke result, it would take hundreds of U.S. presidential elections to definitely conclude that one election forecasting model is superior to another.

How Can We Tell Which Forecasts Are True?

October 13, 2016

Presidential election forecasts are historically successful and appear to be highly precise. Yet they’re often contradictory. What would it take to trust them?

Solution: ‘Time Through an LCD Display’

September 30, 2016

Insights about time’s arrow from a liquid crystal universe.

Seeing Time Through a Liquid Crystal Display

September 13, 2016

What insights can an LCD display give us about time's arrow?

Solution: ‘A Drunkard’s Walk in Manhattan’

September 7, 2016

City blocks help illustrate why walking randomly tends to take you away from your starting point.

A Drunkard’s Walk in Manhattan

August 18, 2016

Why is it that when you walk randomly, the more you walk, the farther you get from your starting point?

Solution: ‘Puzzles Inspired by Ramanujan’

August 8, 2016

What can the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan teach us about number theory through mathematical structures involving infinity?

Three Puzzles Inspired by Ramanujan

July 14, 2016

Insights from the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan give us a number of ways to explore the infinite.

Solution: ‘Is Infinity Real?’

June 30, 2016

Hilbert’s Hotel, an incredibly thin triangle and an elliptical pool table help us test the concept of infinity in the physical world.

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