Take in Mind - Page 2 of 13 - Science for the curious. Popular science for people who love riddles, mysteries, culture and non-standard thinking

About the most magical medicine!

September 17, 2022 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! Let’s dream a bit… You are miraculously transported to, let’s say, South America. After long, boring, and veryRead More

Science and Money

August 6, 2022 By Leonid Livshits

“Tell me honestly, how much money do you need to be happy?” The Little Golden Calf by Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov Good day, dear TakeRead More

A Bao A Qu – The Unfortunate Creature

July 2, 2022 By Samyon Ristov

Have you ever heard about A Bao A Qu, the creature that endlessly goes up and down the stairs of the Tower of Victory inRead More

The Zeitoun Phenomenon

May 21, 2022 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! I must admit that my preparations for this article took me almost twice as much time as itRead More

Palindromusic

May 7, 2022 By Samyon Ristov

Palindromes, sequences that read the same backward as forward, are appreciated by many. They are normally known in numbers (like 11, 232 and, by theRead More

About Grandmas and Grandpas, in Literature!

April 3, 2022 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! …Having a grandmother is like having an army. This is a grandchild’s ultimate privilege: knowing that someone isRead More

“Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend”

February 28, 2022 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! Plato (428/427-348/347 BC) was the greatest ancient Greek philosopher, founder of the Academy and the Platonist tradition. HisRead More

Incredible Mind: Divine Mathematician’s Stories

January 27, 2022 By Samyon Ristov

Srinivasa Ramanujan was a genius. His approach to mathematics, his abilities, sense, insight, was unheard of. In his biographical notice for Ramanujan, G. H. HardyRead More

New Year’s Magical Visitors

December 27, 2021 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! The not-so-simple 2023 will end very soon, and the New 2024 will start in a moment. Some haveRead More

Holding Out For A Hero – Heracles, Part II

December 18, 2021 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! We continue coverage of the significant life events of the most famous hero of ancient Greece. In theRead More

Scientific Humor

About man’s fidelity!

…and there is another story. Once Thomas Edison’s wife told him: “Darling, you are so tired! Go somewhere, relax, have a rest, enjoy your time…” Edison listened to his wife’s wise advice, instantly packed up, and disappeared somewhere… The next day she found the inventor… in his own laboratory, where he actually spent the previous day and night, working with enthusiasm. To her surprised question, happy Edison replied: “Oh my, I’ve rested so well!”

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was a famous American inventor and businessman

Take a look

Once upon a time, a Brahmin (sage) invented the game of chess to teach the cruel Raja (the ruler) to treat his subjects well. In that game, the “Raja” (the name of one of the chess pieces) is the head of the state. If the “Raja” is captured, then his state ceases to exist. In case of danger, the “Raja” cannot survive without his faithful defenders and assistants – other figures.

The Raja was amazed by the game, understood its meaning, and promised not to oppress his subjects in the future. He then asked the Brahmin to choose the greatest reward he may wish for. The Brahmin replied that he wants to be rewarded with… wheat, but based on the following calculation: put one grain on the first cell of the chessboard, two on the second, four on the third, eight on the fourth, etc., doubling the number of grains on each subsequent cell.

The Raja, seeing that there are only 64 cells on the board, was surprised at the insignificance of the request. He decided that it’ll take about one or two sacks of wheat to fulfill it and gave the order to issue the reward immediately. Soon, the court mathematicians reported that the Raja would have to give so many grains, for which it would be necessary to sow the entire Earth, and the grown wheat would be enough to feed the whole population of Earth for 100 years.

Of course, the Raja could not fulfill his hasty promise and received another wise lesson from the inventor of the game of chess.

— A folk tale. Retold in the book “A complete course of chess: 64 lessons for beginners and not very experienced player”s, by S.B. Gubnitsky, M.G. Khanukov, S.A. Shedey.

The photo (own work) illustrates the second part of the fable, about exponential growth. In some variations, rice is requested instead of wheat, but in the photo, Wild Rice is used. The chess pieces’ positions are not random but positioned as in one of the first known chess riddles. In fact, it’s not even a chess riddle, but a Mansuba, a Shatranj problem, composed by Abu Na’im al Khadim (9th century). Shatranj is an old form of chess, with very similar rules. The differences in the rules don’t affect the riddle. White to move, and mate in three.

An easier view of the riddle is available in the first comment. Can you solve one of the oldest chess riddles?

Image source: Own work.

Think about

A few words about imagination

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” ― Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist.

The great German mathematician David Hilbert (1862–1943) noticed that one of his students had started missing his lectures. When he asked for the reason, he was told that the student had left mathematics in favor of poetry. “Ah, yes,” said Hilbert, “I always thought he didn’t have enough imagination for mathematics…”

It is strange that only extraordinary men make the discoveries, which later appear so easy and simple. Georg Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799) was a German experimental physicist.

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself.” Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was an Italian astronomer, mathematician, physicist, and philosopher.

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” — Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) was an American inventor and businessman.