[Maths-Education] Re: Group Theory and Soduko (Ernest, Paul)

[Alan Rogerson]

Oops, "Latin" was intended for "Magic" of course,.... it is a long 
time....the Killer sudoku versions do have some relationship with magic 
squares to the extent that the larger grid can be sub-divided into 
smaller squares where a special relationship holds between the digits in 
the smaller squares/grids, and this is the clue to their solution, but I 
don't want to start on that seductive path......
Best wishes
Alan


Alan Rogerson wrote:
> Dear Paul,
> I now realise what your question meant - does the Sudoku table "look 
> like" a group table would look for some group, with the digits as 
> elements in it. I was thinking along other lines of the 
> transformations involved in moving from table to table, and since the 
> Sudoku is a Magic Square all the extensive literature on that which I 
> read and have mostly forgotten is relevant to that question, and also 
> creating new and bigger magic squares, which is not connected to 
> Sudoku directly.
> I imagine you are not a Sudoko Widower as I (almost) am, Margaret has 
> moved on from the "trivial" problems to Killer Sudoku (eg Kakuru) and 
> "Absolutely deadly" versions -  so avoid the addiction of you can! It 
> does no good my telling her that all Sudoku solutions are /ipso facto/ 
> "the same" except of course for permuting the nine digits, since it is 
> the struggle to find particular patterns and not the final array that 
> matters to the addicts, life evidently imitates Sudoku in being a 
> journey and not a destination...
> Best wishes
> Alan
>
> PS  the books appear to call it Sudoku, but a Soduko by any other name 
> would be just as addictive..... You say Soduko, I say Sudoku,......... 
> let's call the whole thing off!
>