n × n Sudoku puzzles can be straightforwardly encoded as SAT problems. However, solving such puzzles for large n requires a significant amount of optimization. We present some ideas for reducing the number of clauses, for improving the encoding, and for the selection of suitable SAT solvers.

Over the past decade, we have designed six typefaces based on mathematical theorems and open problems, specifically computational geometry. These typefaces expose the general public in a unique way to intriguing results and hard problems in hinged dissections, geometric tours, origami design, computeraided glass design, physical simulation, and protein folding. In particular, most of these type...

Cryptographic puzzles (or client puzzles) are moderately difficult problems that can be solved by investing non-trivial amounts of computation and/or storage. Devising models for cryptographic puzzles has only recently started to receive attention from the cryptographic community as a first step toward rigorous models and proofs of security of applications that employ them (e.g. Denial-of-Servi...

We proposed several strategies to improve the sparse optimization methods for solving Sudoku puzzles. Further, we defined a new difficult level for Sudoku. We tested our proposed methods on Sudoku puzzles data-set. Numerical results showed that we can improve the accurate recovery rate from 84%+ to 99%+ by the L1 sparse optimization method.

Unitarity is a pillar of quantum theory. Nevertheless, it is also a source of several of its conceptual problems. We note that in a world where measurements are relational, as is the case in gravitation, quantum mechanics exhibits a fundamental level of loss of coherence. This can be the key to solving, among others, the puzzles posed by the black hole information paradox, the formation of inho...

We examine methods of integer programming in order to solve two of our favorite puzzles: nonograms and KenKen. The former is a puzzle in which each cell of a board must be colored either black or white. The clues provided in the puzzle indicate the number and length of black-cell clusters that must appear in each row and column of the board. The latter, KenKen, is a puzzle that requires the sol...