Title: How to Overcomplicate the Brill-Noether Theorem
Abstract: The Brill-Noether theorem, as a purely algebro-geometric result, is concerned with the mappings of algebraic curves into projective spaces. Classic proofs, such as those by Griffiths-Harris and Lazarsfeld, rely solely on degeneration arguments and properties of vector bundles. However, modern developments have revealed surprising connections between the theorem and combinatorics. In this talk (and the subsequent one), I will present an argument that involves a mixture of degeneration techniques with a combinatorial argument of the chip-firing game from Cools-Draisma-Payne-Robeva.