Magic Squares – An Overview
“I have often admired the mystical way of Pythagoras, and the secret magic of numbers“
This quote, by Sir Thomas Browne during the seventeenth century, and although he probably wasn’t talking about Magic Squares, it most surely applies to this extremely ancient and fascinating of mathematical constructions.
If Magic Squares are something new for you, then it is simply a square grid (e.g. 3 x 3, 4 x 4), where the total of all the numbers in each row and each column, and, to be classified as a perfect Magic Square, the sum of all the numbers in each of the two corner diagonals, all add up to the same total, often referred to as the “magic total”.
Perhaps surprisingly, Magic Squares date back to around 2,800BC when a magic square known as the “Loh-Shu”, which translates as “scroll of the river Loh”, was invented by Fuh-Hi, who was the legendary founder of Chinese civilization.
Independently of this, Magic Squares have also been found in Roman, Greek, Arabian and Indian cultures too, all of them dating back anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years.
There are many mathematicians, the world over, including the famous Benjamin Franklin, who have added their insights to these mathematical curiosities, to the extent that even now, there are dedicated maths nuts who are still discovering intriguing, new aspects of Magic Squares.
Although alphabetic Magic Squares also exist, and have done for centuries, most Magic Squares are based on numbers, it is not too much of a stretch to accept that they are also used in a sort of astrological / numerological way, and this practise has typically been most popular in India, where the Yantra is built using a person’s date of birth, and then used to give a character reading.
That’s all very well, but I’m sure you wondering whether Magic Squares have any practical uses.
Well, for starters, they are a tremendous means of educating children about both mathematics and the interactions between numbers.
There are plenty of examples on the Internet to be found, and in particular, a free Magic Squares Worksheet that is a combination of a 3D puzzle and a Magic Square, which will keep children of all ages (including adults!) both educated and entertained.
Magic Squares can also be found in the world of magic (of the conjuring variety, that is), being used either as the performance / routine itself, or as the method by which various tricks are achieved, or even both. One widely-acclaimed book on the subject of Magic Squares presents both a mathematical analysis of the subject and some of the uses to which magicians have put Magic Squares.
Be careful though – once you appreciate the beauty of these simultaneously simple but complex creations, you may be hooked for life!
