Samuel Kelso has asked for some clarification about the string figure Andromeda Galaxy. Jean-Christophe points out that it was published in BSFA 15 (1988), but also in SFM v1n3 (Sept.1993)
My response is below:
Oh wow! Andromeda Galaxy is a long and technical figure. I can’t seem to get it to extend without a lot of re-arranging. Here is my heavily pin-boarded example of the figure.
I remember seeing it in SFM when I was first playing with string figures. It seemed like a complicated figure then, and it still feels like one now.
Around that time, back in 2016, I was also interested in astronomy. It turned out that even in a heavily light-polluted place like Toronto, you could see the Andromeda Galaxy through a pair of binoculars. It’s a much bigger object in the sky than the moon, about six times, but much less bright. It looks like a “thumb print” or “smudge” on the sky.
Sam: Regarding Mindt-Paturi / Sun I: It might help to take a step back from that specific instruction or figure and look at the near-by figures. My sense is that they’re all algorithmically rather close to each other. Perhaps interpreting step 4c in some other context will shine light on it in this one.
Keep us posted!
Published: Mar 13, 2025 @ 16:59.
Last Modified: Mar 15, 2025 @ 15:28.
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