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Pradeep Mutalik

Puzzle Columnist

A red-headed man in a purple suit runs alongside a white rabbit against a bright teal background. Large white numbers are falling out of his top hat.
Insights puzzle

Think of a Number. How Do Math Magicians Know What It Is?

By Pradeep Mutalik
May 4, 2022
Read Later

Mathematical magic can seem like mind reading. Your job is to reveal the secret behind these four tricks.

Insights puzzle

The Secrets of Zugzwang in Chess, Math and Pizzas

By Pradeep Mutalik
April 8, 2022
Read Later

Learn the magic and math of how to win games when your opponent goes first.

Insights puzzle

Play First and Lose: Zugzwang in Chess, Math and Pizzas

By Pradeep Mutalik
February 22, 2022
Read Later

How to win games by going second and leaving your opponent with no good options.

Insights puzzle

Why e, the Transcendental Math Constant, Is Just the Best

By Pradeep Mutalik
November 24, 2021
Read Later

The solution to our puzzle about Euler’s number explains why e pops up in situations that involve optimality.

Insights puzzle

Where Transcendental Numbers Hide in Everyday Math

By Pradeep Mutalik
October 27, 2021
Read Later

The transcendental number π is as familiar as it is ubiquitous, but how does Euler’s number e transcend the ordinary?

Insights puzzle

Math Can, in Theory, Help You Escape a Hungry Bear

By Pradeep Mutalik
August 25, 2021
Read Later

How readers used their geometry skills to survive a dangerous puzzle.

Insights puzzle

Can Math Help You Escape a Hungry Bear?

By Pradeep Mutalik
June 29, 2021
Read Later

In this month’s puzzle, math is a question of life or death.

Insights puzzle

How a Simple Arithmetic Puzzle Can Guide Discovery

By Pradeep Mutalik
May 28, 2021
Read Later

Playing with numbers can lead to deep mathematical and scientific insights.

Insights puzzle

The Puzzling Power of Simple Arithmetic

By Pradeep Mutalik
April 20, 2021
Read Later

Playing with arithmetic can lead us to unexpected and profound discoveries that point toward deeper mathematics and sometimes even deeper science.


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About the author

Pradeep Mutalik is a medical research scientist at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics and a lifelong puzzle enthusiast. He has published work in neurophysiology, animal behavior, artificial intelligence, radiology and consciousness. He wrote puzzle columns for The New York Times from 2009 to 2012 and curated the Enigma Cafe at the National Museum of Mathematics from 2012 to 2013.

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