Numberphiles Math Club

The Rockville Numberphiles is a math club for mathematicians from middle school to adult. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Our interactive discussions and presentations help mathematicians explore the broad range of mostly advanced mathematics, its history, and problem solving. For more information, contact Howard at hjlichtman@lichtman.ws or 301.580.7190.

This month: Magic squares have fascinated people since ancient China, where legend holds that the pre-historic Emperor Yu spotted a pattern on the back of a magical turtle emerging from the Lou River. They can be found in a 10th century Jain temple, 16th century European Renaissance paintings, and 21st century Reddit and linear algebra journals. The basic definition is simple – an n x n grid of numbers, where each row, column, and main diagonal add up to the same “magic constant” – but the elaborations are endless.

On the other hand, information theory, as a branch…