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Next year marks 40 years of the Rubik’s Cube first hitting toy shelves. Ever since its release, it’s taunted almost a half billion tinkerers who think they can crack the confounding cube, only to be stymied by its maddening secrets. As we approach the Rubik’s Cube’s ruby anniversary (for real!) it’s time to unpack the puzzle once and for all—with deep math. Because while the cube’s literal insides may be made of plastic, its real guts are nothing but numbers. Let’s dive in.

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Yet another bastion of human skill and intelligence has fallen to the onslaught of the machines. A deep-learning machine has taught itself to solve a Rubik’s Cube without any human assistance.

The milestone is significant because the new approach tackles an important problem in computer science—how to solve complex problems when help is minimal.