Hexaflexagons 2

Happy October, Month of the Hexaflexagon! Part 1: http://youtu.be/VIVIegSt81k
Hexaflexagon Safety Guide: http://youtu.be/AmN0YyaTD60

Oct. 21st is the annual Celebration of Mind, in honor of Martin Gardner. Maybe you'd like to host or attend a flexagon party sometime around then, or learn about other awesome Martin Gardnery things. Here's the hexaflexagon party website: http://www.puzzles.com/hexaflexagon/

For inspiration, here's pictures and stories from epic events in past years: http://www.puzzles.com/hexaflexagon/a...

This video is based on, and in honor of, Martin Gardner's column from 1956, "Hexaflexagons," which can be found here: http://maa.org/pubs/focus/Gardner_Hex...

Historical Note: This video is based on a true story. Arthur H. Stone invented the Hexaflexagon and started a flexagon committee with his friends Tuckerman, Feynman, and Tukey (who all later became well-known in their respective fields). Tuckerman invented the Tuckerman Traverse, and Feynman invented Feynman Diagrams (not to be confused with Feynman Diagrams in physics, which is probably why flexagon diagrams are usually not called Feynman Diagrams anymore). The details of their interactions and dialogue, however, are my own invention.

-Feynman stuff is from the biography "Genius," by James Gleik, p. 103-104
-The story of how Gardner learned about flexagons is from "An interview with Martin Gardner" in the June/July 2005 Notices of the AMS, p. 602-611
-Other historical information, including the text and names on some of the letters, are from Gardner's original article: http://maa.org/pubs/focus/Gardner_Hex...

Thank you to the G4G-CoM committee for helping track down information, especially John Railing and Stan Isaacs for finding these sources.

Also check out flexagon.net, a pretty good resource for patterns for flexagons of many types, and of course the wikipedia page on flexagons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexagon
And on Martin Gardner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_g...

Associated twitter accounts are @g4g_CoM (Gathering for Gardner Celebration of Mind) and @WWMGT (What Would Martin Gardner Tweet?) and, as always, I am @vihartvihart

Card sculptures are by my dad, George Hart. He's got a video about them on his channel: http://youtu.be/YBUEYrzMijA

• Category

  Education

[Fernando Araujo]

Hello Vi Hart, my name is Fernando and I'm a hexaflexaholic. Before learning how to make a hexaflexagon with 6 sides, I was just a mathmatic and poetry lover. After watching this video and making a several hexaflaxagons, I had the ideia "hexaflexapoetry, each triangle is one verse, so i have 36 gaps to write verses". Now I'm a hexaflexaholic and a hexaflexapoet.

Please, like this, I want to get to the top and let Vi Hart read my post : ) Thank you vi hart and youtubers

[Avin Aliyali]

I did a hexaflexagon with 6 differnet colours.... but only 3 colours would show up when I flex it.... did I do something wrong???? :O



[sk8erboy11221]

Head full of knowledge needs to push some useless stuff out

[dolfin rule]

you have to flex it certain ways

[runningsandwich]

No, young one. That is the illusive nature of the hexaflexagon.

[mrflufypants2222]

please make a video on how to make a hex hexaflexagon i can only make a tri hexaflexagon

[IluvSD40s]

I love the flavor text in those letters. Especially the "Dear sirs, FIRST!"

[Ben Ramsey]

Try the first part

[meescat1971]

How do u get the triangles equilateral

[Demauscian]

I may just start writing letters to famous people I respect with just the word "First!"

[Urketadic]

I don't think she cares man, so ima have to dislike

[DeDean16]

I think this is the first time ever I miss high school... :/