Industrious Dice
Innovative dice designs, like the dodecahedral and triacontahedral dice, explore mathematical concepts and efficiency, highlighted at the Gathering for Gardner, despite limited practical application in gaming.
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die simultaneously. Despite this limitation, the exploration of these innovative dice designs highlights the intersection of recreational and pure mathematics, showcasing the creativity involved in mathematical problem-solving. The dodecahedral die demonstrates a more efficient use of pips, while the triacontahedral die offers a unique approach to generating random numbers between 1 and 15. The talk at the Gathering for Gardner served as a platform to share these ideas, emphasizing the aesthetic and moral considerations of mathematical efficiency in design. Ultimately, while these dice may not find practical application in gaming, they represent an intriguing exploration of mathematical concepts and their potential applications.
- The dodecahedral die uses fewer pips than a standard cubic die while maintaining randomness.
- The triacontahedral die was designed to generate random numbers between 1 and 15 efficiently.
- The talk at the Gathering for Gardner highlighted the blend of recreational and pure mathematics.
- The innovative designs reflect aesthetic and moral considerations in mathematical problem-solving.
- Practical limitations exist for these dice in traditional gaming contexts due to visibility issues.
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6 commentsHowever, the point of dice is typically not so you can count the numbers but so others can count them. People sitting at a table with you cannot see “up”, they can only see from an angle and so these dice while mathematically cool are completely impractical. Great example of white tower design.
How can we make a die that functions as a d6, but has "less pips". An elegant dodecahedron as the solution. Less pips but more sides. Not an economic solution, but I love that these problems are being solved.
If anyone really wants to nerd out on the rhombic triacontahedral die, my proof of uniqueness is at https://s3.boskent.com/rhombic-triacontahedron-die/uniquenes...
I first discovered the result computationally, using a program written in https://sentient-lang.org/, before finding the ‘human’ proof described in that PDF.
Only uses 6 pips.
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