About
Kali & the Kaleidoscope (Estd. 2010) is an indefinite exploration of points where human culture meets the mathematical sciences. Our two main projects are ZetaTrek & Compasswallah.
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ZetaTrek (estd 19 October, 2011) is an online network with 38 members in 9 countries.
Our goals range from the relatively new ( Riemann Hypothesis* ) to the ancient (an odd perfect number, and the congruent number problem **). Many of these problems have applicability in biology, physics, technology and cosmology***. We enable the direct participation of an outsider in the process of mathematical discovery and invention.
To promote these concepts, we also organize workshops and contests. On a regular basis, we will be creating problems with cash rewards for solvers, especially across the Indian subcontinent. The Pingala-I contest is another step in this direction.
ZetaTrek is a privately-owned business. Membership of the network - including archives, is transferable like a liquid asset. For more information, please write to the contact given below.
Background
Rohit Gupta [ fadebox --(AT)-- gmail , Twitter: @fadesingh ] the founder of this venture, graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (1999). Prior to becoming interested in mathematics, Gupta worked as a writer and new media artist for a decade in Bombay. "The Avatar versus the Journalist" (2005) was an analysis of the evolution of Wikipedia and its impact on journalism.
Two older software projects (as AlgoMantra) are Cellphabet and parab0xx (2007), which were innovations in human-computer interaction. Another short memoir - "Stage, Software, Spectrum: A Brief Reflection (1996-2007) ", recounts a journey which began with theatre.
Kali & Kaleidoscope began as a blog in 2010 followed by an online workshop in symmetry and group theory, with the help of an expert panel of advisors. This was followed by a workshop on neutrino astrophysics featuring a special guest - neutrino physicist Dr. Ben Still. After this we decided to create a never-ending workshop...the ZetaTrek expedition. And then came Compasswallah.
Footnotes
*In particular, the Riemann Hypothesis is described in A Prime Case of Chaos, by Barry Cipra in this manner:Is one of the deepest problems in number theory tied to one of the most difficult subjects in modern physics? More and more researchers from both disciplines think—indeed, hope--so. The possibility has led to a surprising collaboration of physicists pursuing the implications of quantum chaos and mathematicians hunting for a proof of a famous conjecture in number theory known as the Riemann Hypothesis.
**These two questions are over 2000 years old.
***What do prime numbers tell us about quantum chaos? How do proteins fold? What is the secret of dark matter? How do fireflies emit different colors of light?
