This is a wonderful book about a hypothetical 2dimensional universe. Byte books the brains of men and machines and scott kim. The presentation of these two words was designed by scott kim for his book. A catalog of calligraphic cartwheels by scott kim 1983, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. He distinguishes between types that are based on geometric symmetries, perceptual mechanisms, and other organizing principles. During the event, scott took us on a dazzling journey of exploration into the world of symmetry and art. Our second math encounters presentation april, 2011 featured artist and author scott kim. In 1981, he created a book called inversions, words that can be read in more than one way. A fascinating kind of ambigrams are called inversions. The math horizons magazine v 17, n 4, april 2010, pp. He began writing shortly after becoming a secondary school teacher of english. It can either look the same both ways, or spell something else when inverted. At the bottom, in the same script, is the authors name. He is the author of the books inversions and the newmedia puzzle workout, and he speaks regularly at conferences.
Scott kim is an american puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author. At the top is the book s title, written in an ornate, gothiclooking script. Get author scott kims original book inversions from. Douglas hofstadter coined ambigramas the generic word for inversions. Scott has written five novels and a childrens book, and has had poetry and short stories published in a range of anthologies. You will see that this image reads exactly the same way whether you hold the book as you normally would or turn it upside down. It is much better than flatland by abbott, because it gives plausible and detailed explanations of 2dimensional cosmology, physics, chemistry, geology, weather, biology, sociology, art, music, politics, machinery, computers, etc.
Inversions is a book designed to be seen as well as read and to be seen from a variety of perspectives. Over the years kim has developed the magical ability to take just about any word or short phrase and letter it in such a way that it. Bach and then scott kim he was a student of douglas hofstadter popped into my mind. Scott kim is an american puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author of korean. His first book, inversions, introduced the world to ambigrams words written symmetrically so they read upside down. What better way to begin this chapter than with the words upside down.
Comments on donald knuths article the concept of a metafont scientific american august 1982 republished, with a postscript, as chapter in the book metamagical themas. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. An inversion is a word or name written so it reads in more than one way. Scott kim is the undisputed master of visual wordplay. I bought this book after reading douglas hofstadters geb. Byte books the brains of men and machines and scott kim writes mozart. Called brain candy, it is the result of collaboration with neuroscientist richard restak, m.
A catalog of calligraphic cartwheels by scott kim inversions. His early inversions book blew me away back in the 90s, and when he ambigrammed my name i recall being so overjoyed. An excellent book by a true master in the field is. Word designs demonstrate symmetryintroduce your students to the basic concepts of symmetry with more than 60 mindboggling lettering designs by scott kim, whom isaac asimov called the escher of the alphabet. Sampling his careers work, he introduces a few of the most popular types, and shares the fascinations that inspired some of his best. Scott kim is an american puzzle and computer game designer, artist, and author of korean descent. The impossible puzzles from escher interactive, by scott kim 2 escher interactive free puzzle windows only here is a demo program that lets you play one of the impossible puzzles number 9, impossible triangle. Word designs demonstrate symmetry introduce your students to the basic concepts of symmetry with more than 60 mindboggling lettering designs by scott kim, whom isaac asimov called the escher of the alphabet. Our son, who is 8 and obsessed with math, loves this book. His early inversions book blew me away back in the. Word designs demonstrate symmetry introduce your students to the basic concepts of symmetry with more than 60 mindboggling lettering designs by scott kim, whom. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. During the event, scott took us on a dazzling journey of. Kims 1981 book, inversions, features a collection of inversions a word or name written so it reads in more than one way.
The author of three books, inversions, the new media puzzle workout, and math dance, kim is currently working on a fourthalthough for the first time, this book will have a neuroscience bent. Scott was born in perth in 1957 and is the eldest of four siblings with a white mother and an aboriginal father. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover scotts. View scott kims profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. The sun microsystems logo is a wellknown inversion that scott kim didnt make. Scott kim, md, phd, is a senior investigator in the department of bioethics and studies research ethics, especially the ethics of involving decisionally impaired persons in research, the ethics of highrisk research, and methodological issues in empirical bioethics research.
Scott kims 1996 book on symmetry is called inversions. An inversion can be read both right side up and upside down, or as a mirror reflection. Each word in inversions exhibits striking geometrical symmetry. Inversions npr coverage of inversions by scott kim. Over the years kim has developed the magical ability to take just about any word or short phrase and letter it in such a way that it exhibits some kind of striking geometrical symmetry.
Scott kim, puzzle master puzzles and visual thinking games for math education. So for those of you who want to hear bachs music referenced in the book, here is a chapter by chapter collection of. I drew my first inversion in 1975 in an art class, wrote a book called. He started writing an occasional boggler column for discover magazine in 1990, and became an exclusive columnist in 1999, and created hundreds of other puzzles for magazines such as scientific american and games, as well as thousands of puzzles for computer games. Shown below is an earlier version of the design, which appeared in my book inversions in 1981. Scott kim designs puzzles and games for the web, magazines such as scientific american, discover, and games. John langdons work can be found in his 2005 book, wordplay.
Puzzles are to math what stories are to language, says noted puzzle designer, author, and mathematical artist dr. The book is designed so that the text is also symmetrical what is said in the lefthand column of a page frequently matches the meaning of what is said in the righthand column. Scott kims inversions, published in 1981 by byte publications, is one of the most astonishing and delightful books ever printed. Kims 1981 book, inversions, features a collection of inversions a word or. Scott kim designs puzzles in the spirit of mc eschers art and tetris visually. So for those of you who want to hear bachs music referenced in the book, here is a chapter by chapter collection of links to performances and articles about the pieces. Jul 01, 2011 our second math encounters presentation april, 2011 featured artist and author scott kim. You might recall he designed the once famous sun microsystems logo which you can rotate and still read in any direction. Enjoy free shipping, cash on delivery and extra offers on eligible purchases. And for more than two decades, kim has channeled this passion into an awardwinning career creating visualthinking puzzles for computer games, the web, mobile devices, magazines, and toys. One of the events was a round robin exchange of small gifts made of paper. Be a kickass boss without losing your humanity, published by st. Biography and booking information for scott kim, scott kim designs puzzles in the spirit of mc eschers art and tetris contact all american speakers bureau to inquire about speaking fees and availability, and book the best keynote speaker for your next event. Nov 30, 1980 word designs demonstrate symmetry introduce your students to the basic concepts of symmetry with more than 60 mindboggling lettering designs by scott kim, whom isaac asimov called the escher of the alphabet.
His second book contains a collection of his puzzles originally submitted to magazines and is entitled the new media puzzle workout. His mathematical art appears in many math textbooks. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A catalog of calligraphic cartwheels, byte books 1981, republished 1996 hofstadter, douglas r. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition.
A catalog of calligraphic cartwheels 9780070345461. The four different types of ambigrams we have encountered so far are based on. Doubled over asked readers to find an integer root of each of the following two equations. His first puzzles appeared in scientific american in. His games can also be played on his website or found on greeting cards. Word designs demonstrate symmetry introduce your students to the basic co. What others say scott kim is the escher of the alphabet. So for those of you who want to hear bachs music referenced in the book, here is a chapter by chapter collection of links to.
At the 2008 eg conference, famed puzzle designer scott kim takes us inside the puzzlemakers frame of mind. A catalog of calligraphic cartwheels has 4 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. Uzimajuci uzorke iz svoje karijere, upoznaje nas s nekolicinom najpopularnijih vrsta, i dijeli s. His puzzles have appeared in numerous places online, in books, magazines and toys. A catalog of calligraphic cartwheels by scott kim and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Inversions and ambigrams by scott kim writing a book, ambigram. In his book inversions scott kim outlines a rough but very sensible classification of the different types of ambigrams. Im the type who fiddles with logos and word and letterforms a lot. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. In it, scott kim offers a rich portfolio of words, phrases, and complete alphabets in startling arrangements that involve us in mental juggling of the highest order. Kim holds a phd in computers and graphic design from stanford university.