Sunday, September 16, 2007

The Tower of Hanoi classic puzzle

The latest addition to my site, a page with an interactive puzzle.

Last Friday I added a new page to my site.
The new page is about the Towers of Hanoi puzzle.
Solving this puzzle is a fun way to develop stamina for keeping your mental focus sharp for longer and longer, when you solve it with more and more discs each time.
The new page is interactive, featuring a DHTML javascript that renders a simulation of the puzzle. The script lets you choose from three to eight discs. It also has a “solve” button, allowing you to see a step-by-step solution with the minimum possible number of moves. When you play, the script keeps a count of the numbers of moves you make.
(The javascript code author is Glenn G. Vergara. The script is featured on www.dynamicdrive.com, )
The object of the game is to achieve the minimum possible number of moves in transferring one stack of discs from one tower to another, observing the two rules of the game, which are very simple.
Please visit my new page and have fun with this puzzle. The script is very good in that you move the discs by clicking on them and dragging them with the mouse, instead of pressing more buttons.
After the javascript, I included some basic information on how this puzzle relates to math. Then there is the classic legend of the Tower of Brahma, followed by a cosmological speculation on the total time-span of the universe as predicted by math calculations partly based on assuming the legend was true, and partly based on current scientific beliefs about the universe’s age.
At the end of the page there are links to other web sites featuring information on this brilliant puzzle, and some links to Amazon.com, where you can buy a wooden model of the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, or the book "The Liar Paradox and the Towers of Hanoi: The Ten Greatest Math Puzzles of All Time" by Marcel Danesi.
Please visit my new page and let me know your opinion, because I appreciate any feedback you can give me. Thank you.

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