I Ching and math

My mom arrived in US. And brought me 3 books.
One of them is about I Ching and using hexagrams to solve xMO level math problems.
The hexagrams' Yin and Yang parts maps to 0 and 1, or -1 and 1 respectively.
It's quite easy to use the 0,1 to form a Boolean Algebra and then using that to solve Olympiad problems. Also it was shown to solve the game Nim and a few classic coloring problems.
1 and -1 can form a Abelian group(-1,1), solve another set of math problem.
A Boolean vector can represent graphs, solves yet another kind of math problem.
It also consist of some discrete probability things...
and more...

It's just using the I Ching terminology as a isomorphism to modern mathematics.
Quite interesting. It's not useful, but it proves a point. That I Ching's hexagrams' structure has many mathematical ideas that's considered quite modern.

This graph limited the mind of ancient Chinese mathematician. Sad.
If they have done mathematics just for the sake of it instead of using it for real application only, then maybe, we can have a lot more useful theorems.

In most dynasties, mathematicians have very low social status. But people who does I Ching have high status due to common people and philosophers believe I Ching is the answer to everything(like 42.) So Chinese mathematicians start to do math that related to I Ching, and rarely let themselves to do math outside the I Ching framework.

I hope I get a decent job doing math.


后天八卦配阴阳鱼太

后天八卦配阴阳鱼太极图配中医理论 哈哈

“帝出乎震,齐乎巽,相见乎离,致役乎坤,说言乎兑,战乎乾,劳乎坎,成言乎艮”

另,邵雍的《皇极经世书》里面的数学推演有点意思,不过邵雍把它用作推演过去和未来了,当成了一种占卜的工具,虽然他的思想挑起了当时人们研究数学的兴趣,但是方向却不对。

中国古代数学在很大部分上是为了占卜、历法、土地丈量等等发明的,虽然在《周易》及后人对《周易》的解说理论里面有一些数学体系和数理逻辑的苗头,但中国古代并没有发展起来完整的数学体系和完整的数理逻辑系统,十分遗憾。

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