Xref: utzoo sci.math:6593 comp.lang.prolog:1711 comp.ai:4054
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!srcsip!nic.MR.NET!umn-cs!holey
From: holey@umn-cs.CS.UMN.EDU (J. Andrew Holey)
Newsgroups: sci.math,comp.lang.prolog,comp.ai
Subject: Re: solving soma puzzles
Keywords: soma, pentominoes, combinatorial explosion
Message-ID: <12579@umn-cs.CS.UMN.EDU>
Date: 3 May 89 18:37:14 GMT
References: <336@edai.ed.ac.uk>
Reply-To: holey@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu (J. Andrew Holey)
Organization: CSci Dept., University of Minnesota, Mpls.
Lines: 15

When I was an undergrad in mathematics (several years
ago), I was doing some investigations into perfect
numbers.

I received a soma cube as a gift about that time, and
I noted with interest that one irregular shape could
be formed from three cubies and six could be formed
from four cubies.  To the best of my ability I determined
that about 496 irregular shapes could be formed from
five cubies.  My conjecture was that these numbers might
be somehow connected to perfect numbers.  Does anyone
have any better results on this matter?

Andy Holey
holey@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu