Subject:
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Re: Mathematical proof that you can't build anything with LEGO bricks
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:36:12 GMT
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In lugnet.general, Don Rogerson wrote:
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Dr. Mark Changizi claims that LEGO sets have reached a point where most of
the pieces no longer fit other pieces. Sound crazy? Wait - there’s math...
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I think he’s probably correct, from a certain perspective.
Essentially, LEGO has become a more diverse toy. LEGO from the 60’s and early
70’s was a VERY free-form toy. There weren’t many connection types, so all the
pieces essentially worked with each other. And the same is essentially true of
LEGO today ... *IF* you look at a Creator set, or a generic building bucket. But
LEGO today hits a lot of different target audiences, not all of whom actually
WANT that type of toy.
If you take (say) a Ninjago set that has 100 pieces, and compare it to a set
from 1972 that has 100 pieces, he’s totally correct. There are almost
undoubtedly MORE possibilities with the set from 1972, because the elements are
more interchangeable.
So, yes! He’s totally right.... mathematically. But the answer is “so what”?
LEGO connection types have increased in complexity and diversity so much that
many more different types of things are possible today than they were back then.
... You just need a bigger collection to achieve those things with.
A million “random” pieces from 1972 won’t allow you to build a single pneumatic
piston, or a model train that people confuse with a non-LEGO model. The
diversity just wasn’t there. But a million “random” pieces from 2012 will build
you a LOT of things you couldn’t before.
Look at it this way-- who the hell knows what sort of ungodly number of
combinations are possible with 100 random 2x4 bricks. It’s a heck of a lot. But
most of those are impractical, unaesthetic, boring creations, which all look
pretty damn similar. 100 random DIFFERENT pieces with specialty bricks mixed in
may create fewer *numeric* combinations, but the aesthetic and practical value
of those pieces is WAY more diverse.
DaveE
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