{"id":10889,"date":"2016-07-10T16:03:51","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T08:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/?p=10889"},"modified":"2022-04-27T06:55:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T22:55:00","slug":"real-story-behind-tesla-map-multiplication-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/mathematics\/real-story-behind-tesla-map-multiplication-chart-10889","title":{"rendered":"The real story behind the Tesla Map to Multiplication chart"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently found this Map to Multiplication<\/strong> chart and found it fascinating. It's purportedly by the brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I developed a 3D interactive applet<\/a> which shows more clearly the patterns found in this multiplication chart.<\/p>\n

The \"Map to Multiplication\"<\/h2>\n

The chart works as follows. Place the numbers 1 to 144 on a spiral, such that 1 is in the \"1 o'clock\" position, 2 is at \"2 o'clock\", and so on, as follows:<\/p>\n


\n\"N.<\/a>
\n(Click to see full-size image)<\/div>\n

Around the edge of the spiral the author has indicated the patterns which form by succesively multiplying various numbers.<\/p>\n

For example, the multiples of 2 form a hexagon shape as we go around the spiral:<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/div>\n

This image gives a clearer view of the hexagon resulting from successive multiples of 2:<\/p>\n

\"Multiples<\/div>\n

Multiples of 3 give us diamonds:<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/div>\n

Here is that diamond on a clock face:<\/p>\n

\"Multiples<\/div>\n

Multiples of 5 (when we go all the way out to 144) give us a more complex star shape:<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/div>\n

The prime 11 spirals out from the center:<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/div>\n

But it wasn't by Tesla!<\/h2>\n

I was initially fooled by the chart. It certainly looks like something Tesla may have produced, and the paper it's printed on (or appears to be printed on) is suitably yellowed.<\/p>\n

In reality, math teacher Joey Grether<\/b> originally developed the chart for his children. He tried to promote it via 12xspiral<\/a> but with little success.<\/p>\n

So he cheekily decided to create a hoax, making it look like the chart was by Nikola Tesla. [His post has since been taken down.].<\/p>\n

There's an article about Joey (by Maria Droujkova) here: Exploring the spiral multiplication table<\/a>, where you can see the original Grether's Spiral<\/b> diagram.<\/p>\n

Also see this Reddit entry<\/a>, which alerted me to the scam.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Don't always believe what you read - even though it looks plausible.<\/p>\n

Now head on over and check out my 3D animation of the Grether Sprial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(Images credit: Joey Grether)<\/p>\n

\"24x7<\/a><\/p>\n

See the 15 Comments<\/a> below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Tesla<\/a>
\nThe fascinating Map to Multiplication may not be all it seems, notwithstanding its cleverness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[134,109],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10889"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13067,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10889\/revisions\/13067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}