{"id":636,"date":"2014-04-05T01:30:36","date_gmt":"2014-04-05T06:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/blogonmathblogs\/?p=636"},"modified":"2014-04-08T14:17:05","modified_gmt":"2014-04-08T19:17:05","slug":"mathemagical-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/blogonmathblogs\/2014\/04\/05\/mathemagical-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Mathemagical Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

So maybe you\u2019ve seen the Flash Mind Reader<\/a>.\u00a0 If not, go ahead and try it!\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t dream of depriving you (especially as this is year’s MAM theme is mathematics, magic, and mystery awareness).\u00a0 What you are asked to do is to think of ANY two digit number, add the digits together, subtract that difference from the original number, and then look up your number in a table of symbols.\u00a0 Then the computer will read your mind and produce the correct symbol.\u00a0 So the mystery is \u2013 why does it work?\u00a0 We know it\u2019s a trick, and it can\u2019t be that hard since the computer did it.\u00a0 So it\u2019s bound to bug you until you figure it out, and there are a number of people who post things like \u201cFlash mind reader revealed!!\u201d and then proceed to expound on the method used to do this trick.\u00a0 They make tables, they do a lot of writing, all to express some simple algebra.<\/p>\n

Certainly this is the kind of magic that much of the public associates with math \u2013 fancy tricks with numbers.\u00a0 And it does bear a passing resemblance to another kind of magic with which many of us are familiar.\u00a0 When you\u2019re turning a problem (a mystery) around in your head over and over again because you just can\u2019t let it go, using symmetry to simplify and transform the ideas, you sometimes feel in a tancelike state.\u00a0 This kind of sentiment is echoed in Vi Hart\u2019s most recent post about creating Art Code.\u00a0 She writes \u201cOne thing led to another and soon I had a simple animation I called Lost Memories of Desert Sand<\/a>, and couldn\u2019t stop staring.\u201d \u00a0One might say that \u201cmagic\u201d allows our thoughts to fit together just so and create something beautiful.\u00a0 The gasp that follows many math tricks is also the gasp that sometimes follows a good presentation of a proof.\u00a0 There\u2019s a sense that magic has just been performed \u2013 you were following each movement of the performer ever so closely when all of a sudden they finished the proof \u2013 why yes they did!\u00a0 And it was so clever!\u00a0 And it made sense, right?\u00a0 Or did it?\u00a0 Wait a minute, what about that part over there?\u00a0 There\u2019s a sense of skepticism, excitement, and awe that accompanies the practice of mathematics.<\/p>\n

Physics.org had a great post on Magic and Symmetry in Mathematics <\/a>that speaks to this type of \u201cmagic\u201d in math. One of this year\u2019s Sloan Research Fellows, Dr. Ivan Loseu says “Any scientific discovery involves some kind of magic,” That is, various pieces that may seem to be completely unrelated eventually start to fit together through the fruits of one’s labor. “Since pure math is pure, all this magic is much more clearly seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ready for a fun video from Tadashi Tokieda, whose work I learned about from a guest post at Scientific American about this year\u2019s recent Gathering for Gardener<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Dr, Tokieda from University of Cambridge likes to play with \u201cToy Models\u201d that demonstrate certain unexpected, and one might say \u201cmagical\u201d properties.\u00a0 Check it out https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f07KzjnL2eE<\/a>, and you will probably find yourself spinning little tubes around and saying \u201cpaf, paf, paf!\u201d.<\/p>\n

So go ahead and work your magic this weekend!<\/p>\n

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So maybe you\u2019ve seen the Flash Mind Reader.\u00a0 If not, go ahead and try it!\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t dream of depriving you (especially as this is year’s MAM theme is mathematics, magic, and mystery awareness).\u00a0 What you are asked to do … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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