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Magic cubes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2016
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Since antiquity mathematicians (and not only them) have taken an interest in constructing magic squares. Probably the first magic square ever created is the one shown in Figure 1. Its origin is shrouded in the mystical legends of ancient China. It became to be known as Luo Shu (Luo river writing). There was no clear connection between this configuration and mathematical study until the time of Yang Hui, even though it was described in the sixth century. Another well-known magic square (Figure 2) is in the painting Melancholia made by the famous renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer in 1514 (the year is formed in the middle of the lowest row).
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