Related papers: The Gion Shrine Problem: A Solution in Geometry
We give a new solution to the famous Gion shrine geometry problem from eighteenth-century Japan. Like the classical Japanese solution, ours is given in the form of a degree ten equation. However, our polynomial has the advantage of being…
Between 17th and 19th centuries, mathematically orientated votive tablets appeared in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples all over Japan. Known as sangaku, they contained problems of a largely geometrical nature. In the 17th century, the…
By combining theoretical and computational techniques from geometry, calculus, group theory, and Galois theory, we prove the nonexistence of a closed-form algebraic solution to a Japanese geometry problem first stated in the early…
This paper demonstrates how a nineteenth century Japanese votive temple problem known as a sangaku from Okayama prefecture can be solved using traditional mathematical methods of the Japanese Edo (1603-1868 CE). We compare a modern solution…
This work presents for the first time a solution to the 1821 unsolved Sawa Masayoshi's problem, giving an explicit and algebraically exact solution for the symmetric case (particular case b = c, i.e., ABC \equiv right-angled isosceles…
This article contains a short and entertaining list of unsolved problems in Plane Geometry. Their statement may seem naive and can be understood at an elementary level. But their solutions have refused to appear for forty years in the best…
The Great Pyramids of Egypt hide mathematic information unknown up to date. The measurements of the three Great Pyramids of Egypt at Giza show that Egyptians knew how to calculate the circumference, the volume and the area of the sphere…
Jigsaw puzzle solving is an intriguing problem which has been explored in computer vision for decades. This paper focuses on a specific variant of the problem - solving puzzles with eroded boundaries. Such erosion makes the problem…
Even though it has been almost a century since quantum mechanics planted roots, the field has its share of unresolved problems. It could be the result of a wrong mathematical structure providing inadequate understanding of the quantum…
Geometry and Diophantine equations have been ever-present in mathematics. Diophantus of Alexandria was born in the 3rd century (as far as we know), but a systematic mathematical study of word equations began only in the 20th century. So,…
The interpolation problem is a natural and fundamental question whose roots trace back to ancient Greece. The story is long and rich, with many chapters, and a complete solution has been obtained only recently. Exploring it leads us on a…
We present an English translation and discussion of an essay that a Japanese physicist, Torahiko Terada, wrote in 1922. In the essay, he described the waiting-time paradox, also called the bus paradox, which is a known mathematical…
In this report we consider the set of the 16 possible convex tangrams that can be composed with the 7 so-called "Sei Shonagon Chie no Ita" (or Japanese) tans, see [10]. The set of these Japanese tans is slightly different from the…
Origami is the art of paper folding, and it borrows its name from two Japanese words \emph{ori} and \emph{kami}. In Japanese, {ori} means folding, and the paper is called {kami}. While origami is just a hobby to most, there is a lot more to…
The earliest origins of mathematics in the Indian subcontinent is generally dated around 800-500 BCE when the {\em Sulbasutras} are thought to have been written. In this article we suggest that mathematical thinking in South Asia, in…
Sudoku is a popular combinatorial puzzle. A new method of solving Sudoku is presented, which involves formulating a puzzle as a special type of transportation problem. This model allows one to solve puzzles with more than one solution,…
The study of the mathematics and geometry of ancient civilizations is a task which seems to be very difficult or even impossible to fulfil, if few written documents, or none at all, had survived from the past. However, besides the direct…
A problem that is simple to state in the context of spherical geometry, and that seems rather interesting, appears to have been unexamined to date in the mathematical literature. The problem can also be recast as a problem in the real…
Icosoku is a challenging and interesting puzzle that exhibits highly symmetrical and combinatorial nature. In this paper, we pose the questions derived from the puzzle, but with more difficulty and generality. In addition, we also present a…
Su-Doku, a popular combinatorial puzzle, provides an excellent testbench for heuristic explorations. Several interesting questions arise from its deceptively simple set of rules. How many distinct Su-Doku grids are there? How to find a…