General Discussion : 55799


General / 55799	55798 \| 55800

Subject:	Re: Mathematical proof that you can't build anything with LEGO bricks
Newsgroups:	lugnet.general
Date:	Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:32:43 GMT
Viewed:	20394 times

In lugnet.general, Don Rogerson wrote:

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...

http://discovermagazine.com/2012/jan-feb/02-how-did-lego-lose-its-mojo

I’ve actually had an open conversation with Dr. Changizi about this article and the original paper on which he bases his conclusions. He has made some claims that are not supported by his research or by common observation, and his method of classifying LEGO piece types is suspect.

Wondering what others think of this article.

Here’s a link to the original research paper: http://www.changizi.com/org.pdf

I’ve been sort of pondering this, and I’ve concluded that the researcher’s conclusion makes more sense if we use as a sample 100 random elements chosen from the “classic” LEGO era vs 100 random elements from the newer Ninjago era. Whatever the merits of Bionicle masks, I submit that they lack the generic versatility of a 2x4 brick, so perhaps that’s what he’s driving at.

Also, I’m not especially perturbed by his use of “LEGOs” as a designator, since that’s how approximately 100% of non AFOLs refer to them. Coin of the realm, so to speak.

Message has 2 Replies:

		Re: Mathematical proof that you can't build anything with LEGO bricks
(...) I think it's the higher ratio of piece types to set size that leads him to conclude the sets are not as useful for free-form building as they once were. The argument he makes is that if you have a set of 100 unique pieces, it has less (...) (13 years ago, 1-Mar-12, to lugnet.general, FTX)

		Re: Mathematical proof that you can't build anything with LEGO bricks
--snip-- (...) no. Nowhere near 100%. There's a very high fraction of LEGO fans outside North America. (13 years ago, 12-Mar-12, to lugnet.general, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:

		Mathematical proof that you can't build anything with LEGO bricks
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... (URL) I've actually had an open conversation with Dr. Changizi about this article and the original (...) (13 years ago, 26-Feb-12, to lugnet.general, FTX)

34 Messages in This Thread:

Entire Thread on One Page:: Nested: All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear: All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:: Nested: All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear: All | Brief | Compact

Custom Search