The reversal distance between two genomes has been used extensively in recent years in comparative genomics. One of the drawbacks of this theory is the inherent complexity of the underlying mathematical model. In this talk, we will show that, for most biologically relevant examples, there is a simple, do-it-yourself, graphical approach for computing the reversal distance, and for finding an optimal sequence that realizes this distance. Previous knowledge of the problem, of algorithmics, or even of the official language of the seminar, is unnecessary.
