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Mathematical Puzzles
Mathematical puzzles make up an integral part of recreational mathematics. They have specific rules, but they do not usually involve competition between two or more players. Instead, to solve such a puzzle, the solver must find a solution that satisfies the given conditions. Mathematical puzzles require mathematics to solve them. Logic puzzles are a common type of mathematical puzzle. Conway's Game of Life and fractals, as two examples, may also be considered mathematical puzzles even though the solver interacts with them only at the beginning by providing a set of initial conditions. After these conditions are set, the rules of the puzzle determine all subsequent changes and moves. Many of the puzzles are well known because they were discussed by Martin Gardner in his "Mathematical Games" column in Scientific American. Mathematical puzzles are sometimes used to motivate students in teaching elementary school math problem solving techniques.Kulkarni, DEnjoying Math: Learning Proble ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recreational Mathematics
Recreational mathematics is mathematics carried out for recreation (entertainment) rather than as a strictly research and application-based professional activity or as a part of a student's formal education. Although it is not necessarily limited to being an endeavor for amateurs, many topics in this field require no knowledge of advanced mathematics. Recreational mathematics involves mathematical puzzles and games, often appealing to children and untrained adults, inspiring their further study of the subject. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) includes recreational mathematics as one of its seventeen Special Interest Groups, commenting: Mathematical competitions (such as those sponsored by mathematical associations) are also categorized under recreational mathematics. Topics Some of the more well-known topics in recreational mathematics are Rubik's Cubes, magic squares, fractals, logic puzzles and mathematical chess problems, but this area of mathematics inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptograms
A cryptogram is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand. Substitution ciphers where each letter is replaced by a different letter or number are frequently used. To solve the puzzle, one must recover the original lettering. Though once used in more serious applications, they are now mainly printed for entertainment in newspapers and magazines. Other types of classical ciphers are sometimes used to create cryptograms. An example is the book cipher where a book or article is used to encrypt a message. History of cryptograms The ciphers used in cryptograms were not originally created for entertainment purposes, but for real encryption of military or personal secrets. The first use of the cryptogram for entertainment purposes occurred during the Middle Ages by monks who had spare time for intellectual games. A manuscript found at Bamberg states tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monty Hall Problem
The Monty Hall problem is a brain teaser, in the form of a probability puzzle, loosely based on the American television game show ''Let's Make a Deal'' and named after its original host, Monty Hall. The problem was originally posed (and solved) in a letter by Steve Selvin to the ''American Statistician'' in 1975. It became famous as a question from reader Craig F. Whitaker's letter quoted in Marilyn vos Savant's "Ask Marilyn" column in '' Parade'' magazine in 1990: Vos Savant's response was that the contestant should switch to the other door. Under the standard assumptions, the switching strategy has a probability of winning the car, while the strategy that remains with the initial choice has only a probability. When the player first makes their choice, there is a chance that the car is behind one of the doors not chosen. This probability does not change after the host reveals a goat behind one of the unchosen doors. When the host provides information about the 2 unchosen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeno's Paradoxes
Zeno's paradoxes are a set of philosophical problems generally thought to have been devised by Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (c. 490–430 BC) to support Parmenides' doctrine that contrary to the evidence of one's senses, the belief in plurality and change is mistaken, and in particular that motion is nothing but an illusion. It is usually assumed, based on Plato's ''Parmenides'' (128a–d), that Zeno took on the project of creating these paradoxes because other philosophers had created paradoxes against Parmenides' view. Thus Plato has Zeno say the purpose of the paradoxes "is to show that their hypothesis that existences are many, if properly followed up, leads to still more absurd results than the hypothesis that they are one." Plato has Socrates claim that Zeno and Parmenides were essentially arguing exactly the same point. Some of Zeno's nine surviving paradoxes (preserved in Aristotle's ''Physics'' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ant On A Rubber Rope
The ant on a rubber rope is a mathematical puzzle with a solution that appears counterintuitive or paradoxical. It is sometimes given as a worm, or inchworm, on a rubber or elastic band, but the principles of the puzzle remain the same. The details of the puzzle can vary, but a typical form is as follows: At first consideration it seems that the ant will never reach the end of the rope, but whatever the length of the rope and the speeds, provided that the length and speeds remain steady, the ant will always be able to reach the end given sufficient time — in the form stated above, it would take years. There are two key principles: first, since the rubber rope is stretching both in front of and behind the ant, the proportion of the rope the ant has already walked is conserved, and, second, the proportional speed of the ant is inversely proportional to the length of the rubber rope, so the distance the ant can travel is unbounded like the harmonic series. A formal s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridges Game
''Hashiwokakero'' (橋をかけろ ''Hashi o kakero''; lit. "build bridges!") is a type of logic puzzle published by Nikoli. It has also been published in English under the name ''Bridges'' or ''Chopsticks'' (based on a mistranslation: the ''hashi'' of the title, 橋, means ''bridge''; ''hashi'' written with another character, 箸, means ''chopsticks''). It has also appeared in ''The Times'' under the name ''Hashi''. In France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium it is published under the name Ai-Ki-Ai. Rules ''Hashiwokakero'' is played on a rectangular grid with no standard size, although the grid itself is not usually drawn. Some cells start out with (usually encircled) numbers from 1 to 8 inclusive; these are the "islands". The rest of the cells are empty. The goal is to connect all of the islands by drawing a series of bridges between the islands. The bridges must follow certain criteria:. * They must begin and end at distinct islands, travelling a straight line ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Of Hanoi
The Tower of Hanoi (also called The problem of Benares Temple or Tower of Brahma or Lucas' Tower and sometimes pluralized as Towers, or simply pyramid puzzle) is a mathematical game or puzzle consisting of three rods and a number of disks of various diameters, which can slide onto any rod. The puzzle begins with the disks stacked on one rod in order of decreasing size, the smallest at the top, thus approximating a conical shape. The objective of the puzzle is to move the entire stack to the last rod, obeying the following rules: # Only one disk may be moved at a time. # Each move consists of taking the upper disk from one of the stacks and placing it on top of another stack or on an empty rod. # No disk may be placed on top of a disk that is smaller than it. With 3 disks, the puzzle can be solved in 7 moves. The minimal number of moves required to solve a Tower of Hanoi puzzle is 2''n'' − 1, where ''n'' is the number of disks. Origins The puzzle was introduced to the Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Think-a-Dot
The Think-a-Dot was a mathematical toy invented by Joseph Weisbecker and manufactured by E.S.R., Inc. during the 1960s that demonstrated automata theory. It had eight coloured disks on its front, and three holes on its top – left, right, and center – through which a ball bearing could be dropped. Each disk would display either a yellow or blue face, depending on whether the mechanism behind it was tipped to the right or the left. The Think-a-Dot thus had 28=256 internal states. When the ball fell to the bottom it would exit either to a hole on the left or the right of the device. As the ball passed through the Think-a-Dot, it would flip the disk mechanisms that it passed, and they in turn would determine whether the ball would be deflected to the left or to the right. Various puzzles and games were possible with the Think-a-Dot, such as flipping the colours of all cells in the minimum number of moves, or reaching a given state from a monochrome state or vice versa. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sujiko
Sujiko is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle created by Jai Gomer of Kobayaashi Studios. The puzzle takes place on a 3x3 grid with four circled number clues at the centre of each quadrant which indicate the sum of the four numbers in that quadrant. The numbers 1-9 must be placed in the grid, in accordance with the circled clues, to complete the puzzle. Sujiko is featured in UK newspapers including ''The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...'', ''The Telegraph'', and ''The Sun''. References Logic puzzles 2010 introductions {{game-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sudoku
Sudoku (; ja, 数独, sūdoku, digit-single; originally called Number Place) is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. In classic Sudoku, the objective is to fill a 9 × 9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3 × 3 subgrids that compose the grid (also called "boxes", "blocks", or "regions") contain all of the digits from 1 to 9. The puzzle setter provides a partially completed grid, which for a well-posed puzzle has a single solution. French newspapers featured variations of the Sudoku puzzles in the 19th century, and the puzzle has appeared since 1979 in puzzle books under the name Number Place. However, the modern Sudoku only began to gain widespread popularity in 1986 when it was published by the Japanese puzzle company Nikoli under the name Sudoku, meaning "single number". It first appeared in a U.S. newspaper, and then ''The Times'' (London), in 2004, thanks to the efforts of Wayne Gould, who devised a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Str8ts
Str8ts is a logic-based number-placement puzzle, invented by Jeff Widderich in 2008. It is distinct from, but shares some properties and rules with Sudoku. The name is derived from the poker straight. The puzzle is published in a number of newspapers internationally, in two book collections, and in downloadable apps. It was featured on the Canadian television show ''Dragons' Den'' on November 24, 2010. History A hand made prototype of Str8ts which used black cells and the new rule of straights in compartments was invented by Canadian puzzle designer Jeff Widderich in 2007. He approached Andrew Stuart, a UK-based puzzle maker and programmer, to make the puzzle. Their collaboration settled how the clues would be determined and finalized the rules. The first puzzle was presented at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in February 2008. A daily puzzle has been published at their website since 24 November 2008, and more recently, a weekly "extreme" puzzle has appeared, which incorpora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mechanical Puzzle
A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces in which the solution is to manipulate the whole object or parts of it. While puzzles of this type have been in use by humanity as early as the 3rd century BC, one of the most well-known mechanical puzzles of modern day is the Rubik's Cube, invented by the Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik in 1974. The puzzles are typically designed for a single player, where the goal is for the player to see through the principle of the object, rather than accidentally coming up with the right solution through trial and error. With this in mind, they are often used as an intelligence test or in problem solving training. History The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consists of a square divided into 14 parts, and the aim was to create different shapes from these pieces. This is not easy to do. (see Ostomachion loculus Archimedius) In Iran "puzzle- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
