In 1966, Austrian mathematician Leo Moser asked a pleasingly practical question: If a corridor is 1 meter wide, what’s the largest sofa one could squeeze around a corner? That was 46 years ago, and it’s still an open question. In 1968 Britain’s John Michael Hammersley showed that a sofa shaped somewhat like a telephone receiver could make the turn even if its area were more than 2 square meters (above). In 1992 Joseph Gerver improved this a bit further, but the world’s tenants await a definitive solution. Similar problems concern moving ladders and pianos. Perhaps what we need are wider corridors.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Suitable Fit
In 1966, Austrian mathematician Leo Moser asked a pleasingly practical question: If a corridor is 1 meter wide, what’s the largest sofa one could squeeze around a corner? That was 46 years ago, and it’s still an open question. In 1968 Britain’s John Michael Hammersley showed that a sofa shaped somewhat like a telephone receiver could make the turn even if its area were more than 2 square meters (above). In 1992 Joseph Gerver improved this a bit further, but the world’s tenants await a definitive solution. Similar problems concern moving ladders and pianos. Perhaps what we need are wider corridors.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Benham’s Top
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
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#The_Laws_of_Human_Nature by Robert Greene - Review
This is another book that I would classify under the 'fast-read' category because of its narration about human tendencies rat...
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For the first time I came across a book where the author tries to coerce us to read the 'prelude', which, of course, I did and ...
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The initial chapters would enter the cranium smoothly but midway the reader’s intuition might suggest that the author is determined to ...
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There is a perpetual myth about the brain that we do not use it fully to its capacity and that if we start using it to the fullest we might ...