Take in Mind - Page 6 of 13 - Science for the curious. Popular science for people who love riddles, mysteries, culture and non-standard thinking

Alice in Palindrome Land

January 26, 2021 By Samyon Ristov

There is something unique about Alice and her mesmerizing adventures in Wonderland – something special that catches our eyes. Otherwise, how do you explain theRead More

The Magic Wand – Myths and Science

January 16, 2021 By Leonid Livshits

“Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we’ll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination —Read More

Mission (not) Impossible

January 5, 2021 By Samyon Ristov

In 1999, Tony Hawk, one of the most known and influential skateboarders of all time, attempted to do the impossible: The 900. A 2½-revolution (900Read More

Literary Cinema

January 2, 2021 By Leonid Livshits

Dear Take in Mind Readers! Once again, we want to congratulate you on the beginning of 2021! Most of our readers will have a longRead More

Happy New Year!

December 27, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! As a short introduction, we want to tell you about a curious incident that happened several years agoRead More

Alexander Borodin: A Universal Genius

December 26, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Alexander Porfirevich Borodin (1833-1887) was a Russian doctor, famous organic chemist, and famous musical composer. At the age of 19, he received a Doctor ofRead More

The Great Conjunction

December 19, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Next Monday, December 21, we will witness a very outstanding event – the so-called “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest planets ofRead More

TO BEER!

December 19, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Beer, as a rule, is always and everywhere good, if it is made honestly and not diluted with water… From “A book about a tastyRead More

The Sixth Sense – Infrared Vision

December 9, 2020 By Samyon Ristov

During a normal day in the lab, while lots of research equipment occupied the room and the computers were full of various experimental data, theRead More

Can Blood Transfusion Prolong Life?

November 28, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind visitors! Today I want to talk about a very interesting and burning topic: Can a blood transfusion prolong lifeRead 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.