A SiamMandalay Magazine
Issue 05 August-December 2016
SHOOTING STAR PUZZLE:
RULES & HOW TO PLAY CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF PUZZLES PUZZLES IN EDUCATION:
THE POWER OF PLAY
Special HUMAN V MACHINE:
DEEP MIND & ALPHA GO EXPLAINED
Editor Firstly, everyone at SiamMandalay would like to say a huge thank you for your support of us in our inaugural edition of The Sage. We are all excited about this journey and although it may be a winding road, we are working hard to provide all puzzles fans (yes that’s you) a quarterly print or download with the very latest on all things puzzles. We have created The Sage Magazine with the premise of spreading our love of puzzles as far as we can and allowing you, the reader, to share and participate. In pursuit of this, we invite and encourage all of you to become active with your own input; articles, images, ideas, feedback or suggestions. SiamMandalay believe in a policy of sharing knowledge and experiences, we hope that you’ll join us on this journey and share yours. Thank you,
The SiamMandalay Team
Contents 3 Shooting Star Puzzle: Rules & How To Play 4 Chronological History Of Puzzles: A Timeline 8 Puzzles In Education: The Power Of Play 10 Human V Machine: Deep Mind & Alpha Go Explained
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SHOOTING STAR PUZZLE RULES & HOW TO PLAY Do you want to know how to solve the shooting star puzzle? Check out our easy to follow instruction guide and solution video. The star puzzle is a wooden three-dimensional puzzle with interlocking pieces that requires the player to first take apart the wooden star puzzle and then put it back together. The puzzle is made up of six pieces. Each piece is identical and can be assembled to make a star shape. The story of the puzzle goes back to a small village in ancient India. On the eve of his wedding, a poor young farmer discovered that he had the ability to fly. He soared to the heavens and found a shooting star that would be the perfect wedding gift for his bride. On his way down, he dropped ped the star and it shattered into pieces.. He had to put his gift back together, and thus the puzzle of the shooting starr was born. Players must put together the he puzzle in the same way the Indian farmer mer had to reassemble his shooting star.
RULES FOR THE SHOOTING STAR PUZZLE The rules of the wooden n star puzzle are simple. The object ct is to take the puzzle apart and then put it back together. It sounds easy, but can be quite challenging.
HOW TO SOLVE THE SHOOTING STAR PUZZLE The star puzzle solution can be challenging, but with practice you can learn how to solve star puzzle. 1. First, you will need to take the puzzle apart. If the puzzle is new, the pieces may be stiff and difficult to move. You may need to wrap it against a table a few times to loosen the pieces. To disassemble, begin by holding on to two of the piece on either side of the star, one with each hand. Pull gently and the star should fall apart. You may need to make a slight twisting motion in opposite directions with each hand to loosen the pieces.
Instruction Guide
Solution Video
2. You now have six pieces. Each piece is the same size and shape. One side of each piece is flat and the other side is made up of three pyramids, a larger pyramid and two smaller ones on either side. 3. To reassemble the star, you will put three pieces together and three more pieces together, and bring the two sets together to make the final star shape. Assembling the star piece by piece is much more challenging than doing three and three. 4. Take the first piece and lay it flat on the table or floor in front of you. 5. Take the second piece and hold it vertically. Make sure the pyramid side is facing the pyramids of the first shape. Connect the space between the lower pyramids to the bet space between the back two pyramids of bet the piece on the table. 6. Take the th third piece and hold horizontally so that the th pyramids face you. Insert onto the back of the piece you have built, using the space between the left and middle pyramids. 7. You have now completed the first figure. Set aside. aside 8. Take the th fourth piece and place it on the surface surfac in front of you, pyramid side up. The end en point should be facing you. 9. Take the fifth piece and hold it vertically. Make sure the pyramids are facing the piece on the table. Connect the two pieces using the spaces between the back and bottom pyramids on each piece. 10. Take the sixth and final piece and hold it horizontally with the pyramids facing the piece on the table. Insert it into the figure so that the space between the pyramid on the left and the pyramid in the middle connects into the empty space on the vertical piece. 11. You now have two figures and are ready to put the star together. 12. Rotate the last figure you assembled clockwise until there is a piece on top that is pointing at the figure that you first assembled. Slide it in and move it slightly to the right and then to the left until the piece are interlocked. 13. You now know how to put together wooden star puzzle.
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CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF PUZZLES: A TIMELINE By Sean Allan
You’re going to love this, below we have a chronological timeline of puzzles – a transcending flow through the ages: from around 2300 – all the way through to modern times. If there are any we have missed, any ultra popular puzzles you would like added - please let us know we would like to include them and keep an ever growing comprehensive list:
One of the most famous labyrinths was the Ancient Cretan Labyrinth, supposedly built by King Minos of Greece for his Minotaur (A Half Man Half Bull). The labyrinth did actually exist, but the tale of the Minotaur if of course only a popular legend.
2250BC: The first tactile puzzle came some 500 years after the first labyrinth drawings, dating back to a whopping 2550-2250 BC. Appearing initially in the Indus Valley and Mohenjo-Daro, one of the first known human civilizations - there appeared dexterity puzzle of sorts, similar to the famous Pigs in Clover, puzzle. This seems the first physical manifestation of the labyrinths popular in Ancient Greece and Egypt.
1,000BC: Bottom-Fill Vessel: Chinese Puzzles, a fantastic puzzle website, does an excellent video on this variety. These bottom fill puzzles were first found in Cyprus around 1,000BC with decorative versions found in China around 900AD.
2300 BC: Before modern incarnations of the the varieties of puzzles we sell – labyrinth drawings were popular around the world, particularly in Ancient Greece and Egypt. These kinds of images hold religious and spiritual significance in ancient cultures.
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A bottom-filling pot has no lid and is filled through a hole in the bottom. When the puzzle is turned, surprisingly, there is no leak. Another version of this is the fairness cup which will hold a moderate amount of
liquid, but when filled to the top everything will leak out.
locks of various styles were popular around around Ancient Rome, with a combination lock being excavated from a Roman period tomb in Athens. Attached to the excavated puzzles was a small box, which featured several dials instead of keyholes - which would have been very sophisticated for the era. Muslim engineer Al-Jazari first documented a combination lock in his book “The Book of Knowledge and Mechanical devices” – dated from around 1206.
220BC: Not really a puzzle, but certainly a trick: The resonance bowl can be traced back to the Ancient Tao tradition in China during the Han Dynasty (220BC – AD 9). It is referred to by many names such as the “Bronze Dancing Water Basin” and the “Chinese Spouting Bowl” – Classically made from cast bronze in a foundry, these were made in early Tao Temples for the purpose of meditation and were also utilized as a toy by the upper class. It is said to stimulate your mind, maximize your muscles and offer much happiness to those who use it.
200 BC: Rome – Secret compartment rings: lick lockets, but for rings, often with secret compartments that can be maneuvered with a lever or clasp.
395 AD: Stomachion is a 14 piece dissection puzzle: Similar in style to a Tangram Puzzle.The puzzle is referenced as the “Loculus of Archimedes”. Or the “Syntemachion” in Latin texts. In November 2003 Bill Cutler found these to posses 536 possible distinct arrangement of the pieces to make a square. The Roman Trick Lock, is carbon dated at around 100-400AD – it opens like a locket with secret pull lever. It appears as if trick
1400: Puzzle Vessels or Puzzle jugs, are thought of as one of the oldest mechanical puzzles. The trick involved drinking from the jug AND not spilling its contents. These puzzles have a series of holes that leak if you drink normally. The trick is to find the tube which runs into the jug, cover the holes running across it and suck the contents out like a straw.
1500: Cardan’s Chinese rings, made by Geronimo Cardan. Although this is meant to be the earliest known disentanglement puzzle – other references date back to a puzzle in the Chinese Sung Dynasty – where the original was made by Hung Ming, a famous Chinese Hero. Commonly referred to as the Baguenaudier is a disentanglement puzzle featuring a loop which must be disentangled from sequence of rings on interlinked pillars. 5
1636: Germany, Solomon’s Seal Puzzle is another disentanglement puzzle. Fred Gunfeld’s, Games of the World, calls it the ‘African puzzle’ – however there is no evidence of the puzzles being from Africa, it was featured in early modern Europ in 1636 Germany, 1725 France and 1747 Italy. 1698– Burr Puzzles: One of the world’s most popular puzzle games. The origin of a Burr Puzzles is unknown, but it appears on record in as early as 1698, when it was illustrated on the title page of Chambers’ Cyclopaedia.
1743 – Wisdom Plates are an early version of the classic Tangram puzzle found in Japan under the name: Sei Shona-gon Chie No-Ita – the puzzle conquered the world in the early 19th century after being given as a gift to Captain M. Donaldson during a visit to Canton. The puzzle was originally popularized by the “Eighth Book of Tan” – which claimed the puzzle was originally crafted an Ancient Chinese god - an unlikely but fun story indeed.
1790 – Sliding Puzzles/Dissection Puzzles; The Large Devil’s Hoof is the earliest known example of this puzzle. Consisting of 24 wood pieces, we have a similar puzzle here, termed the double lock- a- ball.
found a renaissance in the late 18th century. Like the Game of Jags and Hooks and similar pentomino style puzzles.
The popular 6 piece burr puzzles, also called the devils hoof was also recorded around this time, but it was first patented in the US in 1915.
1760: Jigsaw Puzzle – Dating back to
1699 – Spanish Puzzle Knife – The first half of the seventeenth century saw the rise in popularity of folding knives. Puzzle knives were a variation of a popular product of the time, each puzzle had its own individual opening mechanism, which was usually based around rivets. Some were made with combination locks, such as numbered dials – as seen above. These knife puzzles are often extravagantly decorated and engraved. 6
1760, when European map makers pasted maps and cut them into small pieces, the have been a household favourite ever since and in fact, Jigsaw puzzles are still used in the American school system to tech children about geography to this day. The eighteenth century inventors of jigsaw puzzles would be amazed to see the transformations of the last 230 years. Children’s puzzles have moved from lessons to entertainment. By around 1910, there was more demand for adults jigsaw puzzles, which progressed into a full blown craze. Initially the puzzles were only for the “uppercrust” of European society and nobility – a far fetch from what we know today.
1760; Netherlands: Secret compartments in everything! Classically made from pieces of household furniture, they were designed to help protect your house from thieves, every dresser had a secret compartment. 1800s: Puzzle Boxes, Japan – In a bit of history, the Japanese Puzzle Box or Himitsu-Bako originated from the Odawara district of Kanagawa, Japan. The exact date isn’t known, but they started to appear in the late Edo period. This stunning range of puzzles were beautifully crafted by Japanese artisans for 3 generations in the region. The allure of Japanese Boxes is not just in their entertaining nature but it is also a treasured as a traditional Japanese art form. The hypnotic color patterns are created by using a combination of natural colored woods. 1883: Tower of Hanoi: Designed by a French mathematician specializing in the theory of numbers. The puzzle has 3 pegs and a number of disks increasing in size – the problem is you cannot place a smaller disc under a larger one. This puzzles was popularized on screen with Planet of the Apes and Star Wars and Doctor Who all featuring it. 1865: Pyramid Puzzle: originally crafted on the pastoral frontier countryside, by pioneer fathers as toys for their children. Pyramid puzzle represent an important piece of American history, an untainted, simple aesthetic, cut by axe from tree stubs and arbitrary branches. 1894: Klotski Puzzle: First patented by Henry Walton, is a popular form of sliding puzzle. Traditionally you are trying to move the largest block from the top to the bottom: we have several version – Setting Sun, Soccer Game x 2 and Baseball. The Huarong Dao is the Chinese version of the game which has interesting fable attached to it – you can read more about that here.
1930: Kumiki puzzles have their roots in Japanese minimalism, first used in Japanese antiquity. Japanese Kumiki Puzzles are based on a style of wooden house building craft that allows houses to stay stable in extreme weather and earthquakes. The puzzles were taken on by Japanese woodworkers. Tsunetaro Yamanaka, was the first craftsman to apply this philosophy in the design of puzzles – they became famed for their clever interpretation of objects, animal and cars before branching out to abstract shapes.
1933 – The Soma Cube is a solid dissection puzzle invented by Piet Hein in 1933 during a lecture on quantum mechanics. There are 7 pieces made out of unit cubes can be assembled into a 3 x 3 x 3 cube. The pieces can be used to also make other shapes.
1974: The Rubik’s cube is a 3-d combination puzzles invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik. It is widely considered not only the bestselling puzzle of all time, but also the bestselling toy – with around 400 million sales worldwide. Such was its influence on popular culture that a culture of “cubers” has arisen who test themselves against the clock.
1981: Pyraminx - Although first conceived by Uwe Meffert in 1970 it was not put in production until 1981. Meffert frequently mentions that the pyramminx would have never have been made if it had not been for the Rubik cube which is of a similar rotating style. And there we have it – a back to front timeline of all things puzzles. If we are missing any let us know.
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PUZZLES IN EDUCATION:
THE POWER OF PLAY By Sean Allan
Beginning 5,000 years ago; reading and writing have been the base for formalized education. In more recent times, computers have been used increasingly assisting with access to information, communication, and type of processes. Toys and games are associated with PLAY – almost everyone likes to play, right? And such desire continues throughout an individual’s life. Psychologists inform us that play is not just a means of filling a void and avoiding boredom, or even just a leisure activity but an important learning experience. Puzzles are like brain food – they teach creativity, logical thinking and dexterity skills. Toys and games play a large part in the early development of children amongst many developed nations. Adopted for example by the Montessori school, puzzles present an innovative, child-centered approach to education.
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This by no means a new phenomenon, toys have been used in education for upwards of 4000 years – many of the toys are still being used in some form of other. Thinking back to your childhood years I bet there were puzzles that you found fun and which also made significant contributions to your learning. Games are a form of play however, they also provide an environment in which game players can learn about themselves. Puzzles provide an environment in which one can interact with other people and develop social skills. For example: From the beginning of your life, you probably played with your fingers and toes – and then an adult joins in with this play, the play then evolves into numerary game – and then into rhyme – one, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fish alive. Play is seen as a way of working off aggression – and learning the basics of survival, particularly in the animal kingdom;
it’s also seen as a means of learning social behaviors – like co-operative games, as well as a commonly accepted means of relaxation. In the modern age of computers; it has been argued that children learn rapidly how to operate the computer through exposure to games since they are motivated to do so. If this argument is accepted then we have a concrete concept of learning through play. Computational thinking is a fundamental skill for everybody – not just computer scientists. Reading, writing and arithmetic: games provide a fruitful environment to explore the ideas of computational thinking. A puzzle is a variety of game where one is attempting to solve a particularly mentally challenging conundrum the fun is in meeting the challenge of the puzzle. Although exposure to computers is reserved for the most part to developed nations – children from other countries can still be exposed to science and technology through toys and games. For many it will be the only experience they get of technology and science through their primary school education. As teachers, you need to develop this idea – that learning can be fun. Since you pupils have likely been conditioned to school being a place of hard work and no play. The gamesin education discipline received increased legitimacy in October of 2003 when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or as its better known – MIT. Announced an initiative to study educational roles of computer games. Many colleges and universities now offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs in computer games. The fun is meeting the challenge of the puzzle – making some or a lot of progress in completing the puzzle. Some of the benefits of puzzles are obvious – crossword puzzles draw upon one’s general knowledge, recall, and spelling ability. Doing a crossword is much like doing a certain type of brain exercise. From an educational stance solving crosswords helps us maintain and improve one’s vocabulary, spelling skills, and knowledge of miscellaneous tidbits.
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HUMAN V MACHINE:
DEEP MIND & ALPHA GO EXPLAINED By Sean Allan Google successfully managed to make history earlier this month – in what some would argue is a landmark moment in the future of artificial intelligence. What Google have achieved is the removing of one of the last vestiges of human exclusivity over the machine when AlphaGo defeated champion Go player, Lee Sedol.
The Competitors: Lee Chang-ho and over the past decade is regarded as the top player in the world.
AlphaGo is a computer program developed by London-based Artificial Intelligence firm Google DeepMind to play the board game Go. In October 2015, it became the first computer Go program to beat a professional human Go player without handicaps on a full-sized 19×19 board. Lee Se-dol (born 2 March 1983) is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank. As of February 2016, he ranks second in international titles behind only 10
In a best of 5 match, Sodol only managed to conquer the Google program once just halting a clean sweep, in match four. AlphaGo’s victory joins the mantle of Checkers, which fell in 1994, chess in 1997 and Jeopardy in 2011. Now, for those who didn’t know, we do have some context as to what this all means: up until 2014 experts believed that it was impossible for computers to trump Go due to the near infinite possibilities. The game gets complex and we mean fast. There are around 400 possible moves on chess after the first round, there are a whopping 129,960 in Go. There are 35 possible moves on any turn in a chess game, and 250 for Go. A typical game between experts lasts for around 150
move, which means there are: 208168199 3819799846994786333448627702865224 5388453054842563945682092741961273 8015378525648451698519643907259916 015628128546089888314427129715319317557736620397247064840935, possibilities in each game. Which, check this, means that the observable universe contains less atoms than possible combinations in the game of Go. To put this into something we can understand, there are 32 million second in a year, it would take over two years, playing 16 hours a day, at one move per second to play 47 million moves, as this is 1048 – no computer is projected to compute anything close to the trillion teraflops – yes that is a number required to win. This idea was the crux of the problem for all the ancestors of AlphaGo – there wasn’t enough computer power for them to determine a solution to all of the moves, it would take an almost infinite amount of time to process every single move. In order to beat a world class human player the AlphaGo program would actually have to learn how to play, and then play adaptively in games against humans – which pretty is similar to thinking and problem solving. To do this AlphaGo uses two types of AI technology: • Monte Carlo tree search: This involves choosing moves at random and then simulating the game to the very end to find a winning strategy. • Deep neural networks: A 12 layer-network of neuron-like connections that consists of a “policy network” that selects the next move and a “value network” that predicts the winner of the game.
To show you how fast Ai has developed, when Kasparov was defeated by IBM’s Deep Blue in 1994, Go programs couldn’t even beat a solid amateur. AlphaGo wasn’t programmed with good and bad moves instead it studied a database of online Go matches which would give it the equivalent experience of doing nothing but playing Go for 80 years straight. AlphaGo engineers fed the program around 30 million combinations or moves and then played 1000s of games against itself. This means that instead of having to contemplate the millions of moves every time, AlphGo can narrow down on the optimal move very quickly. Infact, in the 4th game Sedol used this to his advantage, by playing an awkward move called “the wedge”, which leaves so many possibilities that it confused AlphaGo and allowed Sedol to win. It also appeared from the initial exchanges that Sedol had won the 5th and final game, but although playing valiantly he eventually succumbed to the superior technical strength of AlphaGo. This also means there is an interesting future for the DeepMind program - as it is still far from perfect. The game of Go is similar to something like Solitaire. To view our other best sellers you can click here & here.
Created in China, 2,500 years ago, in Ancient China, go is a pastime beloved by emperors and generals. Go appeared simple – initially simply a board; two players; two stones. Player one uses black stones, while player two used white – each player alternates trying to grab territory. Like chess it is an deterministic perfect information game, which means the best player always wins – there is nothing hidden nor any chance elements. 11
Mathematics is the most beautiful and most powerful creation of human spirit. - Stefan Banach -