Thread: "Research Project"

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Hi Jeremy,

I think 4D puzzles are an interesting crossing ground between spatial and
symbolic. I find that some people are better with spatial reasoning, and
others with symbolic reasoning. Roughly speaking, the former group are
usually better at geometry, and the latter at algebra.

I don't really know anything about the brain, but I'm just speaking from my
experience as a physics / math major and physics PhD student, and I find a
very clear distinction between these types of people. In my research, there
are many concepts and data-sets that can be viewed either graphically or
algebraically. My lab-mate strictly prefers the algebra. He wants to see
what functional form fits the data and work with the formulas. I much
prefer to plot my data as a set of contour surfaces in 3D and rotate it
around in a graphical interface. My lab-mate's way is usually better since
it is still not convenient to communicate science in a 3D manner since
publishers are still married to printed text on some level, although
hopefully that is changing.

4D puzzles take most spatial reasoning types beyond what they can actually
picture in their mind, and requires them to systematize spatial information
and think about it in a symbolic way. Maybe this could be related to the
"purpose" of 4D puzzles.

Best,
David

On Wed, Apr 6, 2016 at 9:51 AM, Jeremy Shahan shahan.jeremy@yahoo.com
[4D_Cubing] <4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Hi I am Jeremy and I am a high schooler and I have a research project for
> one of my classes and my topic is mathematics and puzzles. I thought that
> this would be a great place to gather information on my topic. I have a f=
ew
> questions I am researching.
>
> How do puzzles make people smarter or do they make people smarter?
> What is the purpose of 4D puzzles?
> Are these types of puzzles important to mathematics?
>
> Even if you don't answer these questions specifically any comments,
> thoughts or insights about my topic are greatly appreciated.
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>
>
>=20
>

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The relationship between the visual and the symbolic mathematicians was=20
not always the cozy one it is today. This was once a pitched battle=20
which the visual side completely lost. You couldn't have even a single=20
diagram in your papers if you wanted them to be accepted. Donald Coxeter=20
was our savior who successfully confronted the secret cabal that=20
operated under the fictitious name Nicolas Bourbaki. Here is an=20
excellent video on the topic: https://vimeo.com/120725835

-Melinda

On 4/6/2016 10:52 AM, David Reens dave.reens@gmail.com [4D_Cubing] wrote:
>
>
> Hi Jeremy,
>
> I think 4D puzzles are an interesting crossing ground between spatial=20
> and symbolic. I find that some people are better with spatial=20
> reasoning, and others with symbolic reasoning. Roughly speaking, the=20
> former group are usually better at geometry, and the latter at algebra.
>
> I don't really know anything about the brain, but I'm just speaking=20
> from my experience as a physics / math major and physics PhD student,=20
> and I find a very clear distinction between these types of people. In=20
> my research, there are many concepts and data-sets that can be viewed=20
> either graphically or algebraically. My lab-mate strictly prefers the=20
> algebra. He wants to see what functional form fits the data and work=20
> with the formulas. I much prefer to plot my data as a set of contour=20
> surfaces in 3D and rotate it around in a graphical interface. My=20
> lab-mate's way is usually better since it is still not convenient to=20
> communicate science in a 3D manner since publishers are still married=20
> to printed text on some level, although hopefully that is changing.
>
> 4D puzzles take most spatial reasoning types beyond what they can=20
> actually picture in their mind, and requires them to systematize=20
> spatial information and think about it in a symbolic way. Maybe this=20
> could be related to the "purpose" of 4D puzzles.
>
> Best,
> David
>
> On Wed, Apr 6, 2016 at 9:51 AM, Jeremy Shahan shahan.jeremy@yahoo.com=20
> [4D_Cubing]=20
> <4D_Cubing@yahoogroups.com > wrote:
>
> Hi I am Jeremy and I am a high schooler and I have a research
> project for one of my classes and my topic is mathematics and
> puzzles. I thought that this would be a great place to gather
> information on my topic. I have a few questions I am researching.
>
>
> How do puzzles make people smarter or do they make people smarter?
> What is the purpose of 4D puzzles?
> Are these types of puzzles important to mathematics?
>
> Even if you don't answer these questions specifically any
> comments, thoughts or insights about my topic are greatly appreciated=
.
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>
>
>
>
>
>=20


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">


The relationship between the visual and the symbolic mathematicians
was not always the cozy one it is today. This was once a pitched
battle which the visual side completely lost. You couldn't have even
a single diagram in your papers if you wanted them to be accepted.
Donald Coxeter was our savior who successfully confronted the secret
cabal that operated under the fictitious name Nicolas Bourbaki. Here
is an excellent video on the topic: href=3D"https://vimeo.com/120725835">https://vimeo.com/120725835



-Melinda