Legend says the Chinese military once used a mathematical ruse to conceal its troop numbers. The technique relates to many deep areas of modern math research.
About the author
Lakshmi Chandrasekaran received her doctorate in mathematical sciences from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She earned her master’s in science journalism with a health and science writing concentration from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She is a freelance science writer whose work has appeared in Plus Magazine, Astronomy, Science News and SIAM News, among other publications.