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Can you solve the Mondrian squares riddle? - Gord Hamilton

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TEDEd Animation

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Dutch artist Piet Mondrian’s abstract, rectangular paintings inspired mathematicians to create a two-fold challenge. Can you solve the puzzle and get to the lowest score possible? Gordon Hamilton shows how.

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Mondrian art puzzles become tougher to solve the larger the canvas becomes, but there is a way to determine an answer for an n x n canvas. For an odd n, split the canvas into two rectangles. If we do this wisely we prove that an n x n canvas can score _______.

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Gord Hamilton
  • Director Anton Trofimov
  • Script Editor Alex Rosenthal
  • Associate Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott, Elizabeth Cox
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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