Oct
20
Written by:
StevenFeuersteinTW
Monday, October 20, 2008 7:01 AM
Part 1: The Game of Set
Software development is one heck of a serious job. It turns out, however, that there are several games you can play to improve the quality of code you write. This is the first of two blog entries that introduce you to two of my favorite brain development and training games: Set and Mastermind.
Play either (preferably both) of these games, and you will write better software.
[ Note that I do not include Solitaire in this list. Playing this game will definitely not help you become a better developer, but it will pass the time. ]
I even encourage you to play these games on company time, with management approval. It will be a good investment by your employer. Sound crazy? I have been told by a number of my students that their manager did, in fact, agree to do this, and everyone is happy with the results. I will come back to this point at the end of this blog.
So the game featured in this blog is Set. Set is a "family game of visual perception," according to the creator (lots more details at
www.setgame.com). I think it is better described as a subtle and sophisticated pattern analysis/matching game.
Set is a physical card game, though you can play the daily puzzle
here. They used to sell a software version of the game, which I will be using in this blog, but it is no longer available.
So how does it work? You lay out twelve cards from the deck on the table of your choice. Here we go:
So, the object of the game is to find sets of three cards. Whoever finds the most sets wins the game.
You are now wondering: how do I know which three cards go together in a set? Here are the rules:
- Each card has four characteristics: shape, coloring, number, and filling.
- Each characteristic has three possible values. Oval, squiggle and diamond for shape; green, red or purple for color; one, two or three objects for number; lined, solid and empty for filling.
- Three cards make up a set if each characteristic, independent of the others, is all the same or all different.
An example of a set: all reds, all ones, oval-squiggle-diamond and lined-empty-solid.
Three cards that do not make up a set: red-red-red, two-one-three, solid-solid-solid, and oval-diamond-oval. Two ovals and one diamond are neither all different or all the same.
In other words, two out of three is a no-go in Set.
Note that you can never have all four characteristics the same (they would then be the same card, and the Set deck contains no repeats). You can, however, have a set in which all characteristics are different. I find this to be the challenging and satisfying set to find.
OK, let's use deductive logic to find ourselves a set. Notice the two cards in the middle of the top row?
They could be in a set (any two could, in fact!). Let's see if we can figure out what the third card would have to be. Then if we are lucky enough to have that card on the table, I will have my first set.
The first two cards:
- Each have two items. So the third card has to have two items, too.
- Are green and red. So the third card would have to have a different color: purple.
- Are solid and lined. So the third card would have to have a different filling: empty.
- Are oval and squiggle. So the third card would have to have a different shape: empty.
So the third card would have to be: two-purple-diamond-empty.
Can you see it?
There it is on the bottom row, third column!
Now, if we were sitting around a table together, I would shout: "Set!" and if did so before anyone else, I would scoop up my set. If someone else said "Set" first, they could then take that or a different set, if they had found one (I don't think there is one).
So those three cards go into my pile and we put down another three cards:
And the game proceeds this way until all sets have been found.
Can you identify the (at least) three sets in the above twelve cards?
There are two different sets using
and two different sets using
. Can you find them? See answer at end of this entry.
So that is Set. When you first start to play this game, you will likely follow the path to a solution I showed above; namely, use deductive logic to find the third card given the first two.
You probably, however, will not play this way very long, at least not if you are playing (competing) with others.
In Set, stepping your way through a logical proof ("If the first two are red, the third must be red.") is too slow. You will lose again and again. Not to wrry! After you have been playing for a while, your brain will of its own accord (whatever that means) abandon explicit deductive logic. Instead, your eyes will roam over the entire set of twelve cards and the three cards that make up a set will "appear." Your brain will have by this time trained itself to assimilate the various kinds of input and resolve the problem very rapidly.
How does Set help software developers?
So what's the connection to software? There is a movement in the world of software called "Design Patterns." Here's the basic idea: there's nothing new under the sun; any code you write today is likely very similar to what you or someone else wrote yesterday. Most of our code, in other words, follow common patterns, because we are mostly solving the same kinds of problems, albeit described differently in different domains, over and over again.
So if you can abstract out the pattern, and then provide a similarly generic solution to the pattern, the next time you encounter a problem that fits the pattern, you can immediately apply the general solution, and work simply on fitting it precisely to the specifics of your current challenge.
In other words, lots of software development is all about pattern analysis and recognition, followed by taking logic-based action in response to that pattern.
The better you are at identifying patterns, the better you will be at writing elegant software that avoids the repetitions of logic that invites bugs and mitigates against maintainability.
And that is why I encourage playing this game while you are on company time. In fact, I suggest that team leads or managers organize a weekly Friday pizza lunch during which you play Set as a group. Great team builder and brain builder!
Is Set only good for work?
Ha! No way. In fact, if you have children under the age of twelve or thirteen – anyway, at an age when they are still willing to play a game with you, order Set now (you can find locations in the U.S. that sell Set right
here) and start playing it with your kids.
I bet a child as young as four could get started (perhaps with only two colors, or some other way of simplifying the rules). The sooner the better – Set will help make your child smarter!
The other nice thing about playing Set with your kids is that it is very likely that once they get the hang of it, they will regularly and decisively defeat you. Their minds are so nimble, probably devoting their full concentration to the game, while yours is jumbled full of bills to pay, what to cook for dinner, and so on, that you will spare only a part of your total (and totally awesome) brain power.
And that's OK. Kids generally don't get to control too much of their environment. To know that you are trying hard as you can and still lose to them, well, that is very empowering. Great for kids when they're young, perhaps a point of regret when they become teenagers.
In conclusion, I urge you to get your copy of Set today. Play it at home with your family and friends. Play it at work with your co-workers. Make your brain strong and help make the world a far better place than it is today.
The Answers
Two with
Green-purple-red
One-one-one
Squiggle- squiggle- squiggle
Lined-lined-lined
One-two-three
Purple-purple-purple
Lined-lined-lined
Squiggle- squiggle- squiggle
Two with
Same as before, namely:
Green-purple-red
One-one-one
Squiggle- squiggle- squiggle
Lined-lined-lined
And
Green-purple-red
One-one-one
Squiggle- oval-diamond
Lined-solid-empty