Tatiana Bonch-Osmolovskaya
I am interested in applications of mathematics to literature. This
realm is sometimes called ‘combinatorial poetry’ though not just
combinatorial methods are applied to texts, and not just to poetry.
Visual representation of these texts provides the most obvious
results.
“Magic word square” is a matrix with a letter in each cell so that
meaningful words can be read by every line in any direction. The
presented “magic cube” is an impossible figure where two cubes looking
in different directions are united. Magic words' squares are written
on each face of this cube. A special print type was developed, so that
the letters transform into each other making words when the figure is
turned over itself: a <–> u, b <–> e, c <–> d and so on. To find the
appropriate words amongst the three-letters’ English words that allow
the transformation, a computer program was written, and another one
for listing a set of words for a particular magic square. One of these
cubes is shown on the picture.
On five visible faces of this impossible cube three magic words' squares are presented. Proper names, abbreviations or dialects are allowed. For this type the letters ‘U’ and ‘V’ are not visually distinguished, as well as letters ‘A’ and ‘N’. As the result, on the central face, the words ‘SOS’, ‘OXO’ ‘MOM are written by horizontal lines and ‘SOM’, ‘OXO’, ‘SOM’ – by the verticals, transforming when rotated by 180 degrees into words ‘WOW’, ‘OXO’ and ‘SOS’ by horizontals and ‘WOS’, ‘OXO’, ‘WOS’ by verticals. On the side faces, the words ‘WHO’, ‘HAH’, ‘OHM’ are written on horizontal lines as well as by verticals, transforming into themselves when rotated. On the upper and lower faces, the words ‘BUS’, ‘AVA’, ‘CAM’ are written by horizontals and ‘BAC’, UVA’ and ‘SAM’ by verticals transforming into ‘WUD’, ‘UNU’, ‘SAE’ and ‘WUS’, ‘UNA’ and ‘DUE’ respectively. On the faces invisible to observer, there are more magic squares chosen from approximately 400 found versions.