Experiencing physics by physically

There are lots of opportunities for re-recognition in everyday life what we have learnt at school and it suddenly came to me four days ago.

I was working in the backyard planting vegetable seedlings. I needed more soil to fill the garden bed in, so I went to where I keep my gardening tools. I looked for a big shovel and found one, then went one step forward to grasp it. That was a big mistake. I stepped on the edge of a rake which was leaning against the house wall and the long handle hit my forehead just above my left eye. It happened very quickly, and I couldn't avoid it. Luckily, it didn't hit my left eye.

If this were a scene in a comic, stars would have flown around my head. It was like a scene of an old comedy movie. I think I have seen a scene like this in an old silent movie, maybe it was a Charles Chaplin movie or a Buster Keaton's. It was hurt, but it was a bit funny.
While I was standing in utter amazement, three words came up in my mind: fulcrum, point of effort, working point.

Now, I realised the power of lever. What a teacher said to us pupils was correct, it can make a huge power using lever. I wonder who was the first person who found the mechanism of lever? Was he/she hit on his/her forehead by something and noticed it? Maybe it was not.

Experience is a better teacher than textbooks, but I don't want to experience physics physically anymore.

Pictures with puzzle elements: Mitsumasa Anno

I guess most readers of this blog are puzzle lovers who live outside of Japan. So, I have chosen a famous Japanese illustrator "Mitsumasa Anno" for today's topic, just in case you don't know him.
 

wikipedia - Mitsumasa Anno

Mitsumasa Anno is an illustrator and children's book writer. His children's books are published worldwide, and he has won many awards. I don't pay much attention to children's book writers, but he is exceptional because his illustrations have a sense of puzzle.

I have several of Anno's books. Here is a book " ANNO'S ALPHABET," the Japanese version. If you like impossible objects, you may love this book even it's published for children. I'm amazed at his idea of design and of course, his technique of drawing.

There is also a Japanese alphabet book of Anno's. When I bought these books, I practiced drawing pictures and tried to draw impossible objects but couldn't draw well.

I found Anno's illustrations on the page of Impossible World. 

Impossible World - Mitsumasa Anno
http://im-possible.info/english/art/various/anno.html

As you can see in the middle of the above page, there is a puzzle like a six-piece burr, and please have a look at it carefully. It's something strange isn't it?
Anno drew impossible objects and stairs that remind me of Escher's works in children's picture books. I don't know much about him, but it seems like he has a puzzle sense and is interested in mathematics.

There are several books of conversations with Anno and some mathematicians; Tsuyoshi Mori, Gisaku Nakamura and Koji Fushimi, that have been published. 

Any of those books are fun to read. I looked for their English version books, but unfortunately, I couldn't find any. So, I pick up some contents randomly here.

• Why is symmetry beautiful?
• What is the shape of the field of vision? A rectangle or circle?
• Rectangles make the world
• Image of 0
• Turning a polyhedron over
• Talking about Escher

I think these contents attract puzzle lovers.

Here are different types of his books. These are his series of picture books of journeys.

If you look at the pictures carefully, you will find something that makes you smile. I found Little Red Riding Hood somewhere. I heard that there is a person who posed the same as a famous picture or a trick art. I love his wit and sense of humor.

If you have a chance to visit a library or bookstore, please look for his books. It's worth taking a look, especially for puzzle lovers.

The other side of the lens

I think anyone has an experience to peep into the lens; magnifying glass, microscope or telescope. Isn't it exciting to see something you cannot see with your naked eyes?

I like microscopes. The first time I bought a microscope, I was very excited and saw anything at random, whatever I could get a sample around me; onion peel, pond water, bird's feather, my hair and so on.

One day, I hit a mosquito and what I had done was, of course, I saw a mosquito with a microscope. I hadn't seen an insect until then. What I saw was an ugly face that I would never say it looked cute. It reminded me of a scene of the movie "Alien." I couldn't believe that I hit that with my bare hand and suddenly felt like washing my hands.

If you have a child who doesn't wash his or her hands after playing with mud before eating, let him or her see mud that was taken from the hand with a microscope. You may find a tardigrade or something ugly. Yes, that's right. A microscope can be used for child training. Seeing is better than hearing.

In this sense, a microscope is a good tool to taste a thrill in daily life. You know why? As I experienced, looking in a microscope makes you see what you don't expect. It's sometimes ugly, beautiful or something beyond your imagination.

I know there are people who love thriller movies. I don't see thriller movies much, but if I were a thriller movie fan, I would peep into an eyepiece of a microscope, because a microscope will lead you to an amazing world. The world you can see in the lens is not a fiction like a movie and that makes you feel more thrilled. I guess you have never thought that you hit an alien with your bare hand.

Nowadays, there are alternatives devices that can be used as a microscope. So, even if you don't have a microscope, for example, you can see the microworld using a smartphone or digital microscopes.

Once you see the microworld around you, you will begin to look at the things around you in a different way.

photo credit: Elsie esq. Fine rotative table Microscope 11 via photopin (license) photo credit: J. Data Imagery Num6_SeaIce_20um_20X_04202018_1 via photopin (license)

Escher - Memories of the Netherlands

What do you imagine when you hear the word "Netherlands"?
Wind turbines, beautiful flowers, cheese or if you like arts, you may imagine Vincent W. van Gogh's pictures. To me, the first thing I imagine is Maurits Cornelis Escher.

M. C. Escher is famous in Japan. I think Japanese like Escher, and I'm no exception. As evidence of that, exhibitions of the work of Escher are sometimes held in Japan. I have just searched for the keyword "Escher" on the internet, here it is, I found an exhibition of Escher at The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo which opens from 6th June 2018.

Therefore, I was convinced that Dutch immigrants who live in Australia knew about Escher, and told them I like Escher's works, but nobody knew. I can think that the people whom I asked accidentally might not know Escher, but it's still surprising. I thought Escher was one of the famous people in the Netherlands.

His works are the fusion of mathematics and art which make me feel infinity and circulation. Well, I'm not a native English speaker and don't have enough vocabulary to describe his amazing works. I'll entrust comments about Escher's works to experts.

It's a bit of an old memory, my husband, Juno, and I attended The Bridges Conference, Leeuwarden, Netherlands in 2008. In that year, the International Puzzle Party (IPP) was held in Prague, Czech, so we thought that it was a good opportunity to join both, The Bridges first and then visit the IPP.

Here are pictures I took in Leeuwarden where Escher was born. The first picture was taken at the workshop of Juno's Spinner Truncated Icosahedron. This polyhedron is famous as a soccer ball. I think one of the most famous polyhedra that everybody knows.

The second picture was our outdoor shop. The attendee who wanted to sell their own works could open a small shop in Leeuwarden. There was an unexpected thing that happened. The shop we were allowed to use was just in front of Escher's birth house! In the picture below, the brick house behind Juno is Escher's birth house. This is an unforgettable memory for me.

There was another lucky occurrence. It was almost at the end of The Bridges Conference, we could see Escher's work. There were lots of his works there. If it had been held in Japan, the place would have been crowded but there were only our friend, Juno and me, three of us. I took lots of pictures but I'm not sure about copyrights' law, so I refrained to upload the pictures.

I could spend wonderful times in the Netherlands.
I would like to visit the Netherlands someday again.

* The Bridges Organization

http://www.bridgesmathart.org/

* Juno's World "Juno's Spinner" 

http://www.polyhedra.jp/polyhedron/js/index-e.html

* Juno’s Spinner (Dodecahedron Model) 

https://www.pluredro.com/shop/product/junos-spinner-dodecahedron-model/

Looks simple but difficult - Tricky Dick

If you have plenty of time and want to be puzzled, I know the one that will satisfy you.

It looks a simple structure, but is difficult to solve. It's Tricky Dick, designed by Rick Eason.

This puzzle is not new, so I think some readers have already seen it. I got this puzzle about six or seven years ago. I have heard this is a difficult puzzle, but I thought I could solve it. What happened was, I had been playing with it for about one month and couldn't solve it. I left it on my bookshelf and have forgotten about it for a long time, and I recalled that I still didn't solve it yet. 

Tricky Dick is a disentanglement puzzle. The target of this puzzle is to take out a ring. Simple, isn't it? The ring is slightly smaller than a disk connected to the end of a strap. The strap is long. I wonder if the length of the strap is the key to solve it?

 

I don't know if it's good or bad, this puzzle is high cost-effective. It's a reasonable price and can be enjoyed for a long time. Well, if you are a genius, maybe it can't be high cost-effective though. 

This puzzle is one of my favorite top 10 puzzles. I like a puzzle which has a simple structure, is not a black box type design and is difficult to solve. Tricky Dick is available on Mr Puzzle's online shop.

If you want to be puzzled, please try!

 

 

* Mechanical Puzzles - Rick Eason : Tricky Dick 

* Mr Puzzle online shop : Tricky Dick