Slashdot Mirror
4D Analogue of Megaminx Puzzle
roice writes "The crazy hypercubists who created the
4D and
5D Rubik's cubes (here are previous
Slashdot posts on
the 4-D one and
the 5-D one)
have now developed a free
working 4-dimensional software analogue of the
Megaminx puzzle. Composed of
120 dodecahedral cells, the
underlying structure is arguably the most beautiful of 4D geometrical shapes,
with amazing symmetries and no analogue in dimensions higher than 4.
Though some have already begun working on solutions for this 'Hyperminx,' it has
yet to be solved by anyone. Also, when it comes to
number of positions, it dwarfs the previous puzzles by many thousands of
orders of magnitude!"
Or it could incorporate a thyme dimension. "It looks solved, but it just doesn't snmell solved..."
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
Allow me to shove your head under the putrescent waters of depression.
Three year old solves rubik's cube in less than 2 minutes.
6 year old solves rubik's cube in 40 seconds.
Guy solves rubik's cube in 20 seconds with one hand.
Guy solves rubik's cube in 50 seconds -- with his feet
\I can't solve it either
Technoli
which this margin is too narrow to contain. Strangely the solution implies that if you have 4 integers x,y,z>0 and n>2 then x^n+y^n!=z^n, but I don't know why the heck that would be important.
Dah-dah-dah Dah-dit Dit, Dah-di-dit Di-dit Dah-dah Dit Dah-dit Di-di-dit Di-dit Dah-dah-dah Dah-dit, Di-di-dit Di-di-dah Dah-di-dah-dit Dah-di-dah Di-di-dit Dah-di-dah-di-dah-dah
Note: I couldn't use -. because of the lameness filter.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
So, a few years back, I noticed some of my (less than genius) co-workers were playing with - and solving - the Rubik's Cube! I'd had a cube since I was a kid, but had never learned to solve it, but I figured if these guys could do it, I could do it. Over the next month I spent literally every free moment messing with the cube until I finally taught myself how to solve the damn thing. I was so proud.
As a reward, I went out and bought a new cube, like the ones my co-workers had. I got it home, opened my new cube... and discovered that they come with instructions now.
Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
...have I seen this Megaminx puzzle before.... Oh yes, that's right, the US tax system. Seriously, this is wonderful. Once a problem is solved, then further work is merely optimization and refactoring. There's nothing new. Puzzles that have an algorithmic solution, but where the solution is unknown at this time, are interesting because they require discovery that is potentially within reach of anyone. Puzzles for which only a herustic definitely exists are also interesting for much the same reason. Problems with no solution, or where it is not yet possible to prove it is possible to find any solution, are interesting more because the work required might well involve whole new branches of mathematics being developed, real frontier work rather than simply filling in the gaps. Puzzles of this kind also draw people who might otherwise consider maths or science "boring" into those fields. Science outside of "profitable" fields like computer programming tend to rely on sparking the imagination of the next generation. There's no other reason to go into such a subject than the pursuit of knowledge, once you eliminate all status and monetary value.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
I'm guessing you might have been distracted. We forgive you.
I was taught to respect my elders. The trouble is, it's getting harder and harder to find some.