<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The Chinese rings puzzle is one of those recreational mathematical problems known for several centuries in the West as well as in Asia. Its origin is diffcult to ascertain but is most likely not Chinese. In this paper we provide an English translation, based on a mathematical analysis of the puzzle, of two sixteenth-century witness accounts. The first is by Luca Pacioli and was previously unpublished. The second is by Girolamo Cardano for which we provide an interpretation considerably different from existing translations. Finally, both treatments of the puzzle are compared, pointing out the presence of an implicit idea of non-numerical recursive algorithms. </p></abstract>

The Chinese rings puzzle is one of those recreational mathematical problems known for several centuries in the West as well as in Asia. Its origin is diffcult to ascertain but is most likely not Chinese. In this paper we provide an English translation, based on a mathematical analysis of the puzzle, of two sixteenth-century witness accounts. The first is by Luca Pacioli and was previously unpublished. The second is by Girolamo Cardano for which we provide an interpretation considerably different from existing translations. Finally, both treatments of the puzzle are compared, pointing out the presence of an implicit idea of non-numerical recursive algorithms.

"A difficult case": Pacioli and Cardano on the Chinese Rings

Recreational Mathematics Magazine

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{"article-title":"\"A difficult case\": Pacioli and Cardano on the Chinese Rings"}

The Chinese rings puzzle is one of those recreational mathematical problems known for several centuries in the West as well as in Asia. Its origin is diffcult...

"A difficult case": Pacioli and Cardano on the Chinese Rings

Published Online: Jan 11, 2018

Page range: 5 - 23

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/rmm-2017-0017

Keywords
Chinese rings, recreational problems, Pacioli, Cardano

© 2018

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

"A difficult case": Pacioli and Cardano on the Chinese Rings

Published Online: Jan 11, 2018

Page range: 5 - 23

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/rmm-2017-0017

KeywordsChinese rings, recreational problems, Pacioli, Cardano

© 2018

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Chinese rings, recreational problems, Pacioli, Cardano