Hello there! I am Vijay and soon I will be embarking on a journey through space and time...and math; I will be going to ASU's Department of Mathematics and working with Dr. John Jones to attempt to solve the 3x3 Magic Square of Squares problem:
Construct a 3x3 magic square composed of distinct perfect squares or prove that such a magic square cannot be constructed.
This is certainly a very difficult problem; mathematicians have worked on this problem for quite a long time and still not solved it. However, bits of progress have been made over time and hopefully I can solve the problem or add some more progress. In addition to the 3x3 Magic Square of Squares, I will spend some time on similar problems such as 5x5 bimagic squares, 3x3 semi-magic square of cubes, magic squares of cubes, and add-mult magic squares. Mathematicians have solved similar problem of this difficulty, so I am sure that I can make some progress towards these smaller problems.
Anyways, enough about the project itself. As you probably know, I am Vijay and a senior at BASIS Scottsdale. My favorite subjects are computer science, math, and music. I plan on majoring in computer science and mathematics. In my free time, I like to listen to music, watch anime, and (please don't laugh) make computer programs. I know it seems clichéd, but I truly love designing programs. I have created a cycle decomposer, a rail-fence cipher decoder, a multiplayer video game and so much more. Maybe I will share some of my cooler projects with you. I also love jokes (By the way, What did the tooth fairy say to the lawyer? “I want the tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth!” and the lawyer responds “You can’t handle the tooth!”).
In 8th grade, I attempted to solve the 3x3 Magic Square of Squares problem. I independently proved that this magic square of squares must have either all odd entries or all even entries. Ever since then, this problem has haunted dreams for four years and my only goal in life is to solve it...well...maybe it's more like I have been thinking about and working on this problem from time to time. I really don't know what will happen at the end of my senior project. Will I actually solve the problem? or will I only know about the progress already made? One thing is for sure: I will do my best. Wish me luck!
