Mathematicians Use Card Game to Model Worst-Case Infrastructure Failures
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Mathematicians are studying large collections of objects that have no discernible patterns, to understand worst-case scenarios like infrastructure failures.
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The card game Set illustrates patternless collections - sometimes no "set" of 3 cards exists among 12+ cards laid out.
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Finding the maximum number of Set cards with no possible set is extremely difficult computationally.
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Jordan Ellenberg and researchers at DeepMind used AI models to iteratively generate very large patternless Set card collections.
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This approach can help analyze vulnerabilities in systems like the electrical grid, by modeling collections that lack key connectivity.