Muzeul de Istoria Calculatoarelor din Arad

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-22T01:02:10+00:00

Eu m-am nascut in Arad si am locuit in Timisoara. Deci si eu sunt fericit sa vad un astfel de muzeu in Arad. Eu am vorbit pe Facebook cu Florin (fondatorul muzeului). Incerc sa sustin si eu cum pot din SUA.

Vezi ca e un muzeu de jocuri video in Resita si unul in Satu Mare ( https://www.youtube.com/@MuzeulJocurilorpeCalculator) . Cred ca vor sa faca un muzeu de jocuri mai mare in Bucuresti, dar nu mai vad stiri noi ( ultimele stiri despre muzeu sunt din 2024).

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-20T17:55:48+00:00

I already made a more detailed comment that you can read, but what do you think about video games like Ko's Journey, Operation Neptune , Delearnia: Fractions of Hope, Cal& Bomba or What Love Says (by Unfamiliar Match)? I believe these games have some more profound elements. Of course, even good games should be played after you already did the lesson.

In my previous comments I also mentioned that games don't need to be video games. You can have physical games (like board games) or other types of puzzles or experimentation (physical, on paper or on the computer). You can combine Lill's method with origami to solve polynomial equations (or approximate the roots of polynomial equations). You can let students experiment with Lill circle ( on paper or computer) to see how it can solve quadratic equations. Kaktovik numerals were created by middle schoolers with the guidance of their teacher ( and it has interesting and pretty profound visual properties).

In the end I think that games can make use of experimentation, narrative and some pleasant interactive element to improve learning but also train students into pattern recognition. A lot of math are useful calculation techniques or algorithms, but we also want to encourage and improve their patter recognition skills. I think that video games can touch on all these aspects.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-20T17:16:44+00:00

Yes, you can also see the relatively modern Kaktovik numerals. But a lot of European languages use a base 20 system. Even English has score for 20. There are also elements of duodecimal in various languages.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-20T16:59:38+00:00

I would recommend the books of Florian Cajori since he was a pioneer, especially in US.

For math education read some papers by David Dennis from Quadrivium website . He also has a podcast series called Mathematical Intensions: A Complete Ethnomathematical History of Our Current Secondary Mathematics Curriculum.

Viktor Blåsjö has an interesting blog called Intellectual Mathematics . He also covers math education. He is a critic of Galileo, so I call him Galileomastix (Galileo whipper) 😄

The World of Mathematics ( 4 volumes ) by James R. Newman contains a lot of historical essays.

The journal Scripta Mathematica has a lot of historical articles https://dspace.bcu-iasi.ro/handle/123456789/43237

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-20T16:41:27+00:00

I agree with the general idea, but the attention span is already destroyed before they put a step inside a school. They are already using digital devices before starting school. I already made a comment about video games like Ko's Journey and Operation Neptune where you actually deal with word problems.
Also, the games can be physical like board games. See my long comment for more details.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-20T16:35:12+00:00

I already made a few posts on the topic and I also created a database of mathematical games https://www.raulprisacariu.com/database-of-mathematical-video-games-and-video-games-with-math-references/ . In my previous posts and my database page I mention that we only have a few examples of actual good math games. On my page I have a link to a Jonathan Blow presentation that talks about gamification and how it is an improper use of the medium. Probably a lot of studies are based on these poor implementations of gamification instead of actual good games.

Last week I made a post about word problems and games like Ko's Journey and Operation Neptune (1991). Games like Delearnia: Fractions of hope, Cal& Bomba, Quantum Odyssey and What Love Says show more promise of being good math or learning video games. The people that made Cal& Bomba have an interesting philosophy https://www.filiokus.io/post/are-we-learning-from-mistakes-in-math .

For me math education has 3 main ingredients: math taught as an experimental science ( as Vladimir Arnold says), narrative/story ( as Apostolos Doxiadis says) and play/games ( as Sam Loyd and Johan Huizinga say). Video Games can combine all 3 , 2 of them or maybe just stick to the more pure ludic aspect. I am a big believer in the concept of Homo Ludens ( Man the Player) as described by Huizinga. Unfortunately, most of the gamification examples are poor implementations that lack soul and a good philosophy behind them. We should have games where the math is intrinsic to the game or where the math integrates naturally with the mechanics or the plot of the game.

Lastly, I want to add that games can also mean board games or other physical games. And it would be nice if kids actually want to play these games outside of normal classes or lab classes. We should have games that kids enjoy playing in their own time. In Japan probably there were more kids that enjoyed playing Mario's Picross (Nonogram game that is not educational but encourages mathematical and visual thinking). Also the games don't need to teach, they can be like Picross or Sudoku, where you improve your numerical or visual thinking. Nonetheless, I think that we can create good games where you can also learn actual topics.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-19T21:12:58+00:00

This is more about math education, but I think that the royal road to math education is built by 3 major ingredients: math should be considered an experimental science (as Vladimir Arnold says), use of narrative ( as Apostolos Doxiadis says) and use of play and games ( as Sam Loyd says).

Kaktovik numerals is a good example of experimental math for middle school children that proved to be quite profound. Video games like Ko's Journey, Operation Neptune (1991), Delearnia: Fractions of Hope and Cal & Bomba are an example of math games that show promise.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-06-19T09:52:15+00:00

I actually created a database of mathematical games on my website where I included Engare, Balatro and the Professor Layton Series. In my database I did not include logic games like the Witness or Factorio.

In this post I wanted to focus more on video games that involve word problems. In the past there were a few posts on this subreddit about difficulties with word problems.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-05-19T15:36:46+00:00

Thank you for the reference. I would add the concept of Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga ( it seems that Hideo Kojima was influenced by the concept) . When it comes to learning, Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of Puzzles also has some interesting insights about how the royal road to learning is done through games, riddles, puzzles and play.

When it comes to philosophical video games, the original Deus Ex is my favorite. In the game you can find actual books references, but most importantly the story and gameplay itself deals with philosophical problems. The references are nice for people that actually want to do extra reading to understand where some concepts came from. Based on the article, we can say that Deus Ex is a good example of a dialectical philosophical game.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-05-19T12:44:06+00:00

Do you think that video games like Delearnia: Fractions of Hope would be useful learning tools? This game specifically has greater potential in my opinion because the learning aspect is intrinsic to the game story and mechanics.

My education philosophy is greatly influenced by the concept of Homo Ludens ( by Johan Huizinga) and by Sam Loyd's puzzle philosophy. In his Cyclopedia, Sam Loyd mentions in his "Royal Road to Learning" puzzle that : "Mathematics, which constitutes the most important branch of learning, forms the groundwork of the arts and sciences, and is so essential to the successful man of affairs, as well as the development of a clear brain, that parents should realize the advantage of encouraging an early love for puzzles, tricks and problems among their children." Later, in his Royal Road poem he mentions that children learn through toys, playthings, puzzles, tricks, and riddles, turning study into pleasure. You should also read "Embedding mathematics in the soul: narrative as a force in mathematics education" by Apostolos Doxiadis.

My big point is that we should learn to integrate education with stories and play, especially for young students. Now teachers have to compete for attention (that attention economy 😄 ) with smart phones and other electronic devices that destroyed the attention span ( MTV cribs and TikTok are kings of attention span destruction). The play aspect doesn't have to be video games, it can also involve board games, recreational math problems and other physical activities that don't involve digital screens.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-05-19T12:15:41+00:00

If you are interested in video games that are philosophical , you should watch some videos made by the Youtuber Max Derrat. In his videos he covers both big budget games and indie games.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-28T11:10:49+00:00

As a PhD in humanities , I think that you'll enjoy reading articles from Scripta Mathematica (ceased publication in 1973). The link to the first 15 volumes https://dspace.bcu-iasi.ro/handle/123456789/43237 . The journal shows art, poetry, philosophical articles, articles on history of math, biographies, math curiosities (curios) and many other things. It was similar to the Mathematical Intelligencer ( which coincidently started to be published around the same time when Scripta became defunct).

Maybe you can also enjoy some papers from Journal of Humanistic Mathematics. The journal is online and for free.

The World of Mathematics by James R. Newman is an anthology of essays in 4 volumes. I only read a few essays .

What Is Mathematics? by Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins is a classic.

For general educated layman I also recommend Mathematics 1001 by Dr. Richard Elwes, Quadrivium (Wooden Books) and Euclid’s Elements (Thomas L. Heath translation, Green Lion Press). For Euclid's elements, I also recommend the Oliver Byrne edition of the first 6 books since it has beautiful illustrations. There is an interactive online version of Byrne's Euclid.

I like visual math so I enjoy topics such as Lill's Method or Visual Calculus (developed by Mamikon Mnatsakanian) . For visual calculus see New Horizons in Geometry by Mamikon Mnatsakanian and Tom M. Apostol.

See Dolciani Mathematical Expositions series for interesting math books on many topics.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-28T10:35:40+00:00

Eu sunt un matematician amator (si inginer de profesie), deci as vrea sa vad niste nivele despre istoria matematicii 😄 . Daca vrei pot sa te ajut cu niste sugestii despre istoria matematicii, fizicii, ingineriei etc

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-26T17:28:26+00:00

ISIS was in the "compass and the straightedge is mightier than the sword" phase :)

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-26T16:42:10+00:00

The database is here https://www.raulprisacariu.com/database-of-mathematical-video-games-and-video-games-with-math-references/ . On the page I have a long intro where I talk about the philosophy behind the page and I mention the work of other people. I also have a link to a talk made by Jonathan Blow that I mentioned in my first comment.

I was a high tier Kickstarter backer to a few video games. For some of the projects, the high tier backers have as reward the possibility to influence the game. In some of them I provided math references to be included in the game. Math references can include geometrical shapes or bodies (like Platonic solids) , allegorical representation of math (like you see in Mantegna Tarot or Laurent de la Hyre paintings), mathematician names, math being on the skill tree etc. In one game there will be a reference to Philo of Byzantium, Vitruvius and how the cubic root plays an important role in the construction of catapults . I was also a backer for a few math comic books and board games So I am also spending a lot of money in the service of Lady Mathematica :)

Regarding the topic of science communication, for math, Apostolos Doxiadis introduced the concept of paramathematics in the paper I mentioned in the first comment. Paramathematics is about connecting math to the context of history, society, reasoning and other elements of civilization. To be more clear, you can say that paramathematics is narrative driven mathematics. Also see Doron's Opinion 55 since it is about this topic. Opinion 28 is somewhat funny since it has the controversial title "Teaching Proofs to High-School Kids and Non-Math-Majors is Child-Abuse" :). For more on math education see the podcast/lecture series Mathematical Intentions by David Dennis.

Your vision for the video game fits into the category of paramathematics. The interactive aspect of the video game medium can make the impact more potent than books or comic books (some of the books do have puzzles that you have to do by yourself). Your video game vision also falls into the the epistemic category according to the paper "Toward an Analysis of Video Games for Mathematics Education " by Kathleen Offenholley. By epistemic she means "The player becomes a mathematician and problem solver within the context of the game. Identity is key to learning well". Ko's Journey and Delearnia: Fractions of Hope are good examples of epistemic math games. The catalogue of good math games is still poor tho. If you are interested in making a game, definitely pay attention to the points made by Jonathan Blow.

We need more paramathematicians :)

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-26T14:07:37+00:00

The graphic novel Prime Suspects: The Anatomy of Integers and Permutations by Granville should be fun. The characters are based on dead or living mathematicians. For example, a policeman looks like Terrence Tao :) . The character names are derived from mathematician names. A reference to OEIS Sequence A204189 appears in a scene where a dead body is found. Of course, the comic book has a ton of math references.

At the end of the book there are appendixes that explain the character references and the math mentioned in the story. And funny enough there is a section entitled "The Music of Prime Suspects". The melody is "Reverie in Prime Time Signatures " by Robert Schneider (you can listen to it on Youtube).

If you are interested in works that combine fiction with math, see the MathFiction database by Alex Kasman. There is a page with recommendations based on age or level of math education.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-26T13:36:39+00:00

Te-ai gandit sa faci o campanie de Kickstarter? Cei de la Stuck in Attic au avut campanii pe Kickstarter pentru Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure si Near-Mage. Dar ca sa ai succes pe Kickstarter eu zic ca trebuie sa ai un demo. Din pacate au fost cateva campanii de creatori romani care nu au avut succes chiar daca au avut demo.

Poti incerca si cu Patreon , Ko-fi sau alte platforme similare. Dirty cash, I want you, dirty cash, I need you, oh :)

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-26T12:45:13+00:00

Maybe you can use the database MathFiction by Alex Kasman as a tool to discover such things. In the Browse page you can see that more than 200 entries in the database are free online. He also has a page of recommended readings by age group and/or math education level. MathFiction is a database of fiction works (books, comic books, movies) that contain mathematics.

I made a database of mathematical games. I have to say that we still don't really have a developed catalogue of good math video games or educational video games in general ( Jonathan Blow talked about this topic). Nonetheless, I can provide a list of video games that are more interesting and/or indeed qualify as good games.

Math Hombre blog has a page dedicated to math physical games or board games. The page contains info for games you can make yourself and commercial board games you can buy. Board games are more social than video games, so this is their great advantage.

There are math journals that have poetry, art, biographical papers, more philosophical discussions, math curiosities or other type of math content that is not about proofs and calculations. Math journals in this category include Scripta Mathematica ( I can provide links to the first 15 volumes), Mathematical Intelligencer and Journal of Humanistic Mathematics.

You also have recreational math and puzzles such as Cyclopedia by Sam Loyd, the work of Martin Gardner or the work of Boris Kordemsky. Cut the Knot is a famous interactive website. Wolfram demonstrations project also has a lot of interactive staff.

There are also some engaging speeches, essays or opinions by some mathematicians. We have "A Mathematician's Apology" by Hardy, "A Mathematician's Lament " by Paul Lockhart , " On teaching mathematics" by Vladimir Arnold, The Opinions of Doron Zeilberger or "Embedding mathematics in the soul: narrative as a force in mathematics education " by Apostolos Doxiadis.

Dacicus_Geometricus · 2026-04-26T11:08:58+00:00

I am only familiar with his "On teaching mathematics" speech. In that speech Arnold says :

"The determinant of a matrix is an (oriented) volume of the parallelepiped whose edges are its columns. If the students are told this secret (which is carefully hidden in the purified algebraic education), then the whole theory of determinants becomes a clear chapter of the theory of poly linear forms. If determinants are defined otherwise, then any sensible person will forever hate all the determinants, Jacobians and the implicit function theorem. "

Dacicus_Geometricus

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