Tag Archives: Architecture

Finchampstead

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Graham Shawcross

BACKGROUND This post recreates the report issued for the opening of the Gorse Ride Housing Estate Finchamptead by Mr Peter Walker Minister of Housing and Local Government on 17th July 1970. The estate was designed by the Ministry’s Research and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, House Building Productivity, Housing | Tagged | 1 Comment

House Design

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Graham Shawcross

This post adds extra information to part of an earlier post “Severely Constrained Design”. The Scottish Special Housing Association (SSHA) and the Edinburgh University Architectural Research Unit (ARU) developed a Computer Aided Design program, called House Design. (Bijl et al., … Continue reading →

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Size and Distance Effect

Posted on November 19, 2022 by Graham Shawcross

The Distance Effect In whatever way they are presented, it is easier to compare two magnitudes that are quantitatively further apart, than it is to compare two magnitudes that are quantitatively closer together. This is the distance effect. Figure 1: … Continue reading →

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Round and Sharp Numbers

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Graham Shawcross

“Don’t interrupt,” Bruno said as we came in. “I’m counting the Pigs in the field!” “How many are there?” I enquired. “About a thousand and four,” said Bruno. “You mean ‘about a thousand,’” Sylvie corrected him. “There’s no good saying … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Enumeration | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Königsberg Bridges

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Graham Shawcross

Background The great Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, who had been asked by the Mayor of Danzig to provide a solution to the Königsberg Bridge problem, sent him this disdainful reply: “. . .  Thus you see, most noble Sir, how this type of … Continue reading →

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Weber’s Law

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Graham Shawcross

Weber’s Law expresses a general relationship between an initial stimulus, a quantity or intensity, and the increased stimulus required for a change in the stimulus to be detected. The task is to tell apart, or discriminate, two things that differ … Continue reading →

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Baboon Counting Algorithms

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Graham Shawcross

Human counting can be thought of as a kind of condition controlled logic where counters increment a sequence of labels “one, two, three four…” until some condition is met. (Cantlon et al. 2015) The diagram below illustrates some, but not all, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Brain Physiology, Enumeration, Logic | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Place Value

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Graham Shawcross

Laplace “The ingenious method of expressing every possible number using a set of ten symbols (each symbol having a place value and an absolute value) emerged in India. The idea seems so simple nowadays that its significance and profound importance … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Classification, Enumeration, Logic | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Shooting Baboons: A Story

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Graham Shawcross

Story This story was given to me by my brother-in-law Tony Payne, who cannot remember where he got it from. However, a very similar story, but involving crows rather than baboons, is given in The Number Sense: How the Mind … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Brain Physiology, Camouflage, Enumeration | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Beau Geste Hypothesis

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Graham Shawcross

In the 1924 book Beau Geste, and the many film versions that followed it, the climax of the action takes place in the desert at Fort Zinderneuf where members of the French Foreign Legion are attempting to hold off an Arab  attack. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Camouflage, Enumeration, Illusions | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments