Friday, June 28, 2013

Video: Can you solve the Missing Square Puzzle?

Here's a very interesting, very puzzling video featuring Argentinian magician Norberto Jansenson. See if you can figure out how he does the Missing Square Puzzle.



Thanks and a tip of the top hat to Agent 6 for forwarding this video, which has been viewed well over 6 million times.

What you're seeing is what mathematicians call a dissection paradox, known since the 16th century A.D. The key to the puzzle is the fact that the diagonal edges of some of the component pieces don't match. If you watch carefully, you can see that they don't quite line up. Click here to see a complete explanation, complete with diagrams and an animation.

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