A commenter on Saturday's "Seize the Dia" has
suggested a look at the work of one Mark Collins.
Here is such a look (click to enlarge):
I find attempts to associate pure mathematics with the words
"magic" or "mystic" rather nauseating. (H. F. Baker's work
on Pascal's mystic hexagram is no exception; Baker was
stuck with Pascal's obnoxious adjective, but had no truck
with any mystic aspects of the hexagram.)
The remarks above by Clifford Pickover on Collins, Dürer, and
binary representations may interest some non-mathematicians,
who should not be encouraged to waste their time on this topic.
For the mathematics underlying the binary representation of
Dürer's square, see, for instance, my 1984 article "Binary
Coordinate Systems."
Those without the background to understand that article
may enjoy, instead of Pickover's abortive attempts above at
mathematical vulgarization, his impressively awful 2009 novel
Jews in Hyperspace .
Pickover's 2002 book on magic squares was, unfortunately,
published by the formerly reputable Princeton University Press.
Related material from today's Daily Princetonian :
See also Nash + Princeton in this journal.
