Inspiring and Creative Resources & Tutorials for Science-Curious People
Can you alter this figure-eight-shaped pastry in order to thread the stick into the second loop? Obviously, you cannot unthread the stick from the pastry nor cut the pastry in any way!
The trick is explained in my book: “Impossible Folding Puzzles and Other Mathematical Paradoxes” available on Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/0486493512/?tag=archimelabpuz-20
Order now your exclusive “Illusion d’Optique” playing card deck designed by puzzle master Gianni A. Sarcone!
Packaging printed with optical ink and placed in a protective transparent plastic case.
Inside, you’ll find 54 eye-popping original optical illusions. Watch closely as colors change, shapes transform and static, printed ink seems to come alive. Sarcone has included updated versions of classic illusions, plus innovative new concepts he developed after years of study. “Illusion d’Optique” is not only a beautiful deck, but it also serves as fascinating proof that seeing is not necessarily believing.
Gianni A. Sarcone is a visual artist and author from Italy with over 30 years’ experience in the fields of visual creativity, recreational mathematics and educational games. Much of his art blurs the line between cognitive sciences and communication. As Gianni puts it, his work is intended to “encourage people to look beyond what seems obvious and to open their mind to new emotions and dimensions.”
Inspired from the astrological tables, here is a new puzzle of my creation designed according to the ‘Golden Number Rules’, which is reflected in the proportion of each single piece of the game. Thanks to the balanced dimensions of its pieces, this puzzle acquires some intriguing magical properties!
This “math-magical” puzzle is composed of a tray in which the pieces are assembled.
Topology is a fascinating branch of mathematics that describes the properties of an object that remain unchanged under continuous “smooth” deformations. Actually, many 3D puzzles are based on topological principles and understanding some very basic principles may help you analyze whether a puzzle is possible or not.
Puzzle-Meister G. Sarcone created this amusing everyday-life topological puzzle to help children to easily take their shoes off.
As you know, the standard shoelace knot is designed for quick release and easily comes untied when either of the working ends is pulled. Thus, most people think that tying a shoelace into a double knot is an effective method of making the knot “permanent”. But is it true? Continue reading “How to ‘magically’ untie a shoelace double knot”
