Take in Mind - Page 7 of 13 - Science for the curious. Popular science for people who love riddles, mysteries, culture and non-standard thinking

The Sahara Desert – The New “Lungs” of Earth?

November 21, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! Yes, perhaps we slightly exaggerated the scope of the discovery in the title of this post. It wouldRead More

Epic of Gilgamesh – Part VI

November 10, 2020 By Administrator

Tablet IX Gilgamesh fled into the desert with a cry from the heart. Reaching the sandy hills, he fell on the ground. Then, he fellRead More

The Sixth Sense – The Rainbow Effect

October 28, 2020 By Samyon Ristov

It was a boring class and my concentration started to drift. I tried to stay awake, staring at anything I could to keep my eyesRead More

The Power of Forgiveness

October 21, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget. Nahjul Balagha, Saying 201 Where there is forgiveness, there is God Himself. AdiRead More

Citius, Altius, Fortius!

October 17, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! Unfortunately, together with a very rich diversity of political, economic and, social events (and, once more, unfortunately, mostlyRead More

Joyful Scholars: The Goliards

October 10, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! Inspired by your interest in the adventures of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, we decided to continue acquainting ourRead More

Dimensions: A journey to a multi-dimensional world

October 4, 2020 By Samyon Ristov

People who study science and engineering discover at some point the idea of dimensions. Not parallel dimensions, although that a fascinating (and absolutely scientific!) topicRead More

Epic of Gilgamesh – Part V

September 29, 2020 By Administrator

Tablet VII In the middle of the night, Gilgamesh woke up. He told his dream to Enkidu: I dreamed of a heavenly palace. The immortalRead More

Musicians at a glance

September 24, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

(from “Musicians laugh”, a book by I. Mukha. Publisher: Musical Ukraine 1972) The famous composer Georg Friedrich Handel received a letter saying that theRead More

About the green “talkers”

September 14, 2020 By Leonid Livshits

Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! Don’t be confused by the title of this post: It’s not about alien visitors or Shrek the Ogre,Read 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.