Guess who was in town in mid-October? The amazing Vladimir Krasnoukhov, a one-of-kind puzzles inventor from Russia! (I know, I should’ve written about this earlier, but I’ve been lagging behind with my blog posts because of a really wicked bronchitis). He stopped by for a coffee and literally showered Simon with new mind boggling gifts!
Simon was especially impressed by the two physics demos that look like stuffed surfboards (Vladimir calls them “oysters”) and can only rotate in one direction due to the moment of inertia. Vladimir told us there have even been research papers written about these demos! Simon has been showing the trick to just about everyone who has visited our home ever since.
We have also received an especially difficult puzzle that took famous Russian physicist Sergei Kapitsa two hours to solve (Vladimir told me the answer, he didn’t want me to waste two months of my life) and several more colourful and elegant models. Simon is not even particularly keen on puzzles (when it comes to recreational maths, I think he is more into riddles and proves), it is Vladimir’s friendly disposition, his selfless devotion to mathematical beauty and his deep respect for a child’s intrinsic interests, his deep respect for children’s play in general, that have made our hearts melt. You can find out more about Vladimir Krasnoukhov’s puzzles on planetagolovolomok.ru
Geeks out of the box 