Mazes
From Maze
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| − | '''What is a Maze?''' | + | ===What is a Maze?=== |
One objection to calling the output a maze is the lack of a solution or single correct path through this visual pattern. However, the OED lists two related senses, the first of which requires that there is *exactly* one correct path, the second of which has no such requirement. Consider the following definitions: | One objection to calling the output a maze is the lack of a solution or single correct path through this visual pattern. However, the OED lists two related senses, the first of which requires that there is *exactly* one correct path, the second of which has no such requirement. Consider the following definitions: | ||
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| − | '''History of Mazes:''' | + | ===History of Mazes:=== |
Scholars of mazes distinguish the labyrinth as unicursal, offering no choices to one traversing it. Hermann Kern has written the book on labyrinths in his Labyrinthe, Erscheinungsformen und Deutungen 5000 Jahre Gegenwart eines Urbilds, later published in English as Through the Labyrinth: Designs and Meaning over 5,000 Years. However, unlike the more general category of mazes, a labyrinth is “almost completely enclosed by an outerline” and their paths “are not intersected by other paths” (23). Nonetheless, the history of labyrinths is an essential part of the overall mythos of the maze. | Scholars of mazes distinguish the labyrinth as unicursal, offering no choices to one traversing it. Hermann Kern has written the book on labyrinths in his Labyrinthe, Erscheinungsformen und Deutungen 5000 Jahre Gegenwart eines Urbilds, later published in English as Through the Labyrinth: Designs and Meaning over 5,000 Years. However, unlike the more general category of mazes, a labyrinth is “almost completely enclosed by an outerline” and their paths “are not intersected by other paths” (23). Nonetheless, the history of labyrinths is an essential part of the overall mythos of the maze. | ||
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| − | '''Ancient and Mythological Mazes''' | + | ===Ancient and Mythological Mazes=== |
Of course, the most famous maze is the Cretan Labyrinth, where Theseus slew the Minotaur, finding his way with the help of Ariadne's string. | Of course, the most famous maze is the Cretan Labyrinth, where Theseus slew the Minotaur, finding his way with the help of Ariadne's string. | ||
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| − | '''Mazes in Dance''' | + | ===Mazes in Dance=== |
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| − | '''Mazes in Religion''' | + | ===Mazes in Religion=== |
Mazes also have a tendency to turn up in Christian houses of worship, specifically in Italy and France. The earliest labyrinth shows up in the Basilica of Saint Reparata (Algiers) in 324 CE and they continue to be included through today. | Mazes also have a tendency to turn up in Christian houses of worship, specifically in Italy and France. The earliest labyrinth shows up in the Basilica of Saint Reparata (Algiers) in 324 CE and they continue to be included through today. | ||
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| − | '''Hedgerow Mazes''' | + | ===Hedgerow Mazes=== |
The oldest of the "Turf mazes" or "turf labyrinths" that appeared in England about the beginning of the eighteenth-century and develop into a ever-evolving part of the maze landscape. | The oldest of the "Turf mazes" or "turf labyrinths" that appeared in England about the beginning of the eighteenth-century and develop into a ever-evolving part of the maze landscape. | ||
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| − | '''Mazes in Puzzlebooks''' | + | ===Mazes in Puzzlebooks=== |
The oldest depiction of a maze, which is also a maze, dates back to 1200 B.C., according to Kern. However, the phenomena of maze puzzle-books is considerably more contemporary. | The oldest depiction of a maze, which is also a maze, dates back to 1200 B.C., according to Kern. However, the phenomena of maze puzzle-books is considerably more contemporary. | ||
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| − | '''Mazes in Mathematics''' | + | ===Mazes in Mathematics=== |
The problem of solvability in mazes has become part of the purview of mathematics, particularly in the area of "critical path analysis" (CPA). | The problem of solvability in mazes has become part of the purview of mathematics, particularly in the area of "critical path analysis" (CPA). | ||
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| − | '''Mazes in Mass Media''' | + | ===Mazes in Mass Media=== |
According to Clifford Pickover, the first major maze movie was aptly called ''The Maze,'' a 1953 horror film directed by William Cameron Menzies. The maze in the film was the hedgerow kind, like the snowed-under maze of ''The Shining.'' Pickover adds Labyrinth and The Man in the Maze to his list movie mazes. | According to Clifford Pickover, the first major maze movie was aptly called ''The Maze,'' a 1953 horror film directed by William Cameron Menzies. The maze in the film was the hedgerow kind, like the snowed-under maze of ''The Shining.'' Pickover adds Labyrinth and The Man in the Maze to his list movie mazes. | ||
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| − | '''RPGs''' | + | ===RPGs=== |
Dungeons and Dragon as the prototypical second-person tabletop RPG game. (Will dig up some old DM manuals and D&D modules, to see what's in there about mazes.) | Dungeons and Dragon as the prototypical second-person tabletop RPG game. (Will dig up some old DM manuals and D&D modules, to see what's in there about mazes.) | ||
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| − | '''Mazes in psychology''' | + | ===Mazes in psychology=== |
The maze also has cultural resonance because of its role in behavioral research. Mazes have been used as laboratory environments for rats and mice, and as means of testing these rodents. The depiction of mazes in certain cultural productions reflects this aspect of the maze. For instance, images of rats in a maze are prominent in Alex Proyas' 1998 film ''Dark City''. Dr. Schreber, a captive human who works with his alien captors, is shown looking down on a rat in a large, intricate maze; the rat and the maze connect figuratively to the people in the film and the titular city, which is constructed for the purpose of an experiment. In Daniel Keyes' novel ''Flowers for Algernon'' (1966; first published as a short story in 1959), a white mouse with augmented intelligence demonstrates his abilities by traversing a maze. Algernon parallels the novel's protagonist, Charlie, in many ways: The success of the intelligence-enhancing procedure performed on him leads to its being done to Charlie. This sort of maze has been important to mention in less mainstream literary practices, too. The co-founder of the influential French group Oulipo, Raymond Queneau, famously described the members of this group, who set writing constraints for themselves, as "rats who build the labyrinth from which they plan to escape." | The maze also has cultural resonance because of its role in behavioral research. Mazes have been used as laboratory environments for rats and mice, and as means of testing these rodents. The depiction of mazes in certain cultural productions reflects this aspect of the maze. For instance, images of rats in a maze are prominent in Alex Proyas' 1998 film ''Dark City''. Dr. Schreber, a captive human who works with his alien captors, is shown looking down on a rat in a large, intricate maze; the rat and the maze connect figuratively to the people in the film and the titular city, which is constructed for the purpose of an experiment. In Daniel Keyes' novel ''Flowers for Algernon'' (1966; first published as a short story in 1959), a white mouse with augmented intelligence demonstrates his abilities by traversing a maze. Algernon parallels the novel's protagonist, Charlie, in many ways: The success of the intelligence-enhancing procedure performed on him leads to its being done to Charlie. This sort of maze has been important to mention in less mainstream literary practices, too. The co-founder of the influential French group Oulipo, Raymond Queneau, famously described the members of this group, who set writing constraints for themselves, as "rats who build the labyrinth from which they plan to escape." | ||
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| − | '''Computer Generated Mazes ''' | + | ===Computer Generated Mazes=== |
Pickover also includes a section on "the largest computer-generated maze in the world," a title which seems quaint by today's standards. Although he notes the program could generate an 1000-page maze, he cites the largest one she had printed to date as a 200-page maze. However, he gives the title to the 1987 maze produced by Walter Pullen. This 23-foot maze had to be stored on "eight floppy disks" and "require one megabyte of disk space" (7). Pickover later adds an followup note from Pullen about a maze he had generated with "@2 miles of passages" that "stretched over 3031 pages" (8). | Pickover also includes a section on "the largest computer-generated maze in the world," a title which seems quaint by today's standards. Although he notes the program could generate an 1000-page maze, he cites the largest one she had printed to date as a 200-page maze. However, he gives the title to the 1987 maze produced by Walter Pullen. This 23-foot maze had to be stored on "eight floppy disks" and "require one megabyte of disk space" (7). Pickover later adds an followup note from Pullen about a maze he had generated with "@2 miles of passages" that "stretched over 3031 pages" (8). | ||
