Kashmir teen develops formula for cracking magic squares

Thirteen-year-old Faizan Ali Mir's inability to solve a mathematics problem last year pushed him to invent a formula for cracking the magic squares.
"After failing to answer the question related to magic squares in Class VII, I was disappointed. Some senior students helped me solve the question but later when I tried again and again, I noticed a pattern and came up with this formula," Mir, a Class VIII student, said at the release of a booklet on the "Faizan formula" here.
The booklet was mentored by chairman of an NGO, Culture and Science Foundation Kashmir, and senior mathematics lecturer Shahbaz Hakabari.

"I named the formula after the boy...I analysed the formula and found it workable," Hakabari, Vice Principal of Government Higher Secondary School Sumbal in Bandipora District, said.
"Since Mir is a minor and blooming star, I put in my efforts to publicise the innovation," he said.
Mir, who is a student at Jawahar Navodhaya Vidhyalaya in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, said his innovation will boost the morale of the students of mathematics.
Talking about the features of the Faizan formula, Hakabari said it extends the domain of magic squares to any order, gives the key to find the numbers for placement in blank boxes of magic squares, helps in finding ways and means to approach the given target and facilitate tracing of the numbers for placement in boxes of the magic squares or even without placement, the range of numbers can be ascertained.

Referring to the hard-spots in the prevailing game, he said, "Magic squares of higher orders are time consuming, placement of numbers in higher-order is hectic and magic squares of higher order are not played as filling of boxes manually is rather impossible".