Mathematics
You thought the maze looked fun, but now you can’t find your way out. Luckily, mathematics is here to help you escape, says Katie Steckles
12 July 2023
GETTING lost in a maze is no fun, and on that rare occasion when you find yourself stuck in one without a map or a bird’s-eye view, it can be difficult to choose which way to go. Mathematics gives us a few tools we can use – in particular, topology, which concerns shapes and how they connect.
The most devious mazes are designed to be as confusing as possible, with dead ends and identical-looking junctions. But there is a stunningly simple rule that will always get you out of a maze, no matter how complicated: always turn right.
Any standard maze…
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