Posted AT 4:02 AM EDT on 03/03/06
Magic math mystery solved at last
Long before the Sudoku number puzzle became the crack cocaine of brain teasers, a bored Benjamin Franklin jotted down a couple of much more complex number puzzles of his own.
But, exactly how the U.S. inventor, printer and statesman devised his so-called magic squares 270 years ago, without the help of a computer, and how many permutations are possible under his distinct mathematical design have stumped mathematicians ever since.
The full text of this article has 621 words.
To continue reading this article, you will need to purchase this article.
Already have a member account? Login now
Pay-Per-View Offers To read the complete article, select one of the following options
Purchasing from globeandmail.com is quick and secure.
Video Picks
- Into the wild
- Remote camera catches rare up-close images of bears, wolverines in the wild
- Rare rhino caught on tape
- Rare footage of the world's most threatened rhino shows it charging a hidden camera in Indonesia
- Fading flowers?
- New research suggests pollution is changing the way flowers smell
- Thames seahorses rebound
- Despite almost vanishing because of pollution, seahorses are now back and thriving in London's Thames River
Weird science
- Even platypus's genome is extraordinary
- Scientists say newly mapped platypus genome could help explain evolution
18
Earlier discussion
In Pictures
- Dinosaur treasure
- Hadrosaur found in Dakotas had much of its tissue and bones intact
- Herculaneum throne
- Archeological dig uncovers more evidence of life in Pompeii
Energy
- Lessons from Germany
- Alternative-energy superpower lures Canadians
Video Picks
- Preserving species
- Hanoi conservation centre aims to preserve endangered animals
