Read The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions

The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions

Clifford A. Pickover

4.9/5 (10342 ratings)

Description:Humanity's love affair with mathematics and mysticism reached a critical juncture, legend has it, on the back of a turtle in ancient China. As Clifford Pickover briefly recounts in this enthralling book, the most comprehensive in decades on magic squares, Emperor Yu was supposedly strolling along the Yellow River one day around 2200 B.C. when he spotted the creature: its shell had a series of dots within squares. To Yu's amazement, each row of squares contained fifteen dots, as did the columns and diagonals. When he added any two cells opposite along a line through the center square, like 2 and 8, he always arrived at 10. The turtle, unwitting inspirer of the ''Yu'' square, went on to a life of courtly comfort and fame.Pickover explains why Chinese emperors, Babylonian astrologer-priests, prehistoric cave people in France, and ancient Mayans of the Yucatan were convinced that magic squares--arrays filled with numbers or letters in certain arrangements--held the secret of the universe. Since the dawn of civilization, he writes, humans have invoked such patterns to ward off evil and bring good fortune. Yet who would have guessed that in the twenty-first century, mathematicians would be studying magic squares so immense and in so many dimensions that the objects defy ordinary human contemplation and visualization?Readers are treated to a colorful history of magic squares and similar structures, their construction, and classification along with a remarkable variety of newly discovered objects ranging from ornate inlaid magic cubes to hypercubes. Illustrated examples occur throughout, with some patterns from the author's own experiments. The tesseracts, circles, spheres, and stars that he presents perfectly convey the age-old devotion of the math-minded to this Zenlike quest. Number lovers, puzzle aficionados, and math enthusiasts will treasure this rich and lively encyclopedia of one of the few areas of mathematics where the contributions of even nonspecialists count.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions. To get started finding The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Pages: —

Format: PDF, EPUB & Kindle Edition

Publisher: —

Release: —

ISBN: 1400841518

Description: Humanity's love affair with mathematics and mysticism reached a critical juncture, legend has it, on the back of a turtle in ancient China. As Clifford Pickover briefly recounts in this enthralling book, the most comprehensive in decades on magic squares, Emperor Yu was supposedly strolling along the Yellow River one day around 2200 B.C. when he spotted the creature: its shell had a series of dots within squares. To Yu's amazement, each row of squares contained fifteen dots, as did the columns and diagonals. When he added any two cells opposite along a line through the center square, like 2 and 8, he always arrived at 10. The turtle, unwitting inspirer of the ''Yu'' square, went on to a life of courtly comfort and fame.Pickover explains why Chinese emperors, Babylonian astrologer-priests, prehistoric cave people in France, and ancient Mayans of the Yucatan were convinced that magic squares--arrays filled with numbers or letters in certain arrangements--held the secret of the universe. Since the dawn of civilization, he writes, humans have invoked such patterns to ward off evil and bring good fortune. Yet who would have guessed that in the twenty-first century, mathematicians would be studying magic squares so immense and in so many dimensions that the objects defy ordinary human contemplation and visualization?Readers are treated to a colorful history of magic squares and similar structures, their construction, and classification along with a remarkable variety of newly discovered objects ranging from ornate inlaid magic cubes to hypercubes. Illustrated examples occur throughout, with some patterns from the author's own experiments. The tesseracts, circles, spheres, and stars that he presents perfectly convey the age-old devotion of the math-minded to this Zenlike quest. Number lovers, puzzle aficionados, and math enthusiasts will treasure this rich and lively encyclopedia of one of the few areas of mathematics where the contributions of even nonspecialists count.We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions. To get started finding The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions, you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
Our library is the biggest of these that have literally hundreds of thousands of different products represented.

Special Offer | $0.00

Special Offer! | $0.00

The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions

The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars: An Exhibition of Surprising Structures Across Dimensions

More Books

The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics (Union Square & Co. Milestones)

The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics (Union Square & Co. Milestones)

The Physics Book: From the Big Bang to Quantum Resurrection, 250 Milestones in the History of Physics (Union Square & Co. Milestones)

The Physics Book: From the Big Bang to Quantum Resurrection, 250 Milestones in the History of Physics (Union Square & Co. Milestones)

Death and the Afterlife: A Chronological Journey, from Cremation to Quantum Resurrection (Union Square & Co. Chronologies)

Death and the Afterlife: A Chronological Journey, from Cremation to Quantum Resurrection (Union Square & Co. Chronologies)

The Medical Book: From Witch Doctors to Robot Surgeons, 250 Milestones in the History of Medicine (Union Square & Co. Milestones)

The Medical Book: From Witch Doctors to Robot Surgeons, 250 Milestones in the History of Medicine (Union Square & Co. Milestones)

Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes and the Quest for Transcendence

Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes and the Quest for Transcendence

Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives Of Eccentric Scientists And Madmen

Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives Of Eccentric Scientists And Madmen

Time: A Traveler's Guide

Time: A Traveler's Guide

The Math Book: 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics by Clifford A. Pickover (2014-04-04)

The Math Book: 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics by Clifford A. Pickover (2014-04-04)

The Möbius Strip: Dr. August Möbius's Marvelous Band in Mathematics, Games, Literature, Art, Technology, and Cosmology

The Möbius Strip: Dr. August Möbius's Marvelous Band in Mathematics, Games, Literature, Art, Technology, and Cosmology