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Mathematics

This versatile piece of maths can help you solve all kinds of problems

From timetable scheduling to colouring in, and even casting a play, this nifty piece of mathematics is the answer, says Katie Steckles

By Katie Steckles

16 April 2025

Picture supplied by Katie Steckles for 19th April 2025 Maker column

“Graphs … are extremely effective for modelling sets of objects and the relationships between them”

Katie Steckles

Recently, a friend asked for help with a tricky problem: they were staging a play, and the script had a large number of characters. They didn’t want to hire an actor for each role, and while they could double up, they would run into problems if the same actor were playing two characters in a scene.

Luckily, I was the right person to come to for help. There’s a piece of maths that’s effective at solving many such problems, from casting a play to…

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