Feedback | SoME

How to draw a snowman with a single inequality using min() and max()

Audience:

Tags: boolean-logicimplicit-functionsmath-art

This video is about combining implicit functions using boolean logic. I show why min(), max(), and negation are equivalent to union, intersection, and difference (OR, AND, NOT) and how to use those to create a complex shape using a single equation or inequality. I do this in the context a simple example of building a snowman.

The concepts described are one part of the Theory of R-Functions by Rvachev, developed in the 1960s. Further reading on that by Vadim Shapiro: https://scispace.com/pdf/theory-of-r-functions-and-applications-a-primer-2uvkrb2sp0.pdf

It is also the concept underpinning Constructive Solid Geometry, which is used in CAD for engineering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_solid_geometry

I was not able to find much about this concept on YouTube so I thought it would help other people interested in creating art with math.

Analytics

6.07 Overall score*

57 Rank

21 Votes

15 Comments

Comments

5.8

Pretty neat, I would like to see a bit more explanation of where the inequality came from, but otherwise it was a nice quick video about a cool subject

6.1

This was more of playing and creativity than teaching a concept. I liked it.

Interesting application of logic and especially linking logic with numerical operators. It would have been helpful to include a table of corresponding logical and numerical operators and also to cover more of the logical operators.

6.1

Good video! And nice topic to explain. It may not be as cinematic as some other creators. But that doesn’t mean you need to change your format. Thank you!

Very effective use of Desmos. The narration was clear. The pace of the explanation was appropriate initially but then got too fast. You were building up the snowman nicely but then increased the speed and jumped to the end, skipping over the final steps. It would have been cool to watch the complete snowman get built piece by piece.

This is sort of a cute video, but I didn’t feel it was great. I felt that it was simply a “trick” so to speak, and once you learned the trick there wasn’t anything else to learn. Okay, so now I know how to create funny shapes using min and max. That’s cute, but not particularly useful or profound.

The creator did a reasonably good job at this video, I just didn’t feel like there was much “meat” here.

Absolutely solid video, I don’t think there are any problems with what is actually presented. However, it’s unclear to me how it compares with the existing content out there. Then again, I am not a math teacher, so I suppose I am not the right audience.

Also it seems more targeted to high school students than undergraduates, which is alright, just pointing it out.

6.1

This was fun, I think that some more detail could have been given to the technicalities. For example, R-functions were never mentioned despite being in the description.

7.1

I don’t use Desmos, so this video will be of limited use. I liked the inequalities explained with simple (11th year) high school. I liked the Boolean and I liked how all this flows together. I could follow this video. The presenter explained the variables and how everything fell together. I worry that making such a large complex equation (for which there appears to be space) is a recipe for failure due to typos and lots of moving parts. I would have liked a step-by-step alternative, but that’s just me.

Cute video! Don’t know about desmos art so can’t comment too much, but this is a neat thing I didn’t know about.

6.8

This is a nice idea, and is nicely and clearly explained and illustrated. (It wasn’t clear how you made the smile.)

5.6

Simple and clear, though I was expecting an XOR achieved by multiplying the expressions.

Very fun idea and enjoyable video. The equations get a bit messy towards the end and all around the visuals could be improved. Still, lovely video and ideal duration.

7.6

Could’ve been longer with more different examples

7.3

This video has great educational value; it can serve as both an introduction and a source of entertainment for students. Its duration and pacing are perfect.