Hi,

I've just read Lee Earl's Syzygy and in it there's a great little routine called Chinese Menu by Fred Rosenbaum. I know there's a mathematical principle behind it, but I can't figure out what it's called. I know it's not a magic square as such, but really would like to know how these grids are constructed so I can force a different number for another effect.

Can anyone shed a little light on this please?

Cheers,
Matt

The principle behind Chinese Menu is the same as that of a forcing matrix, with a more subtle handling. Want to rework it to another number? Doug Dyment will teach you how, and for free! (Click highlighted text) He's even made a spreadsheet available at the bottom of that page to do the calculations for you!

When constructing one for Chinese Menu, you'll want to work with 4-digit numbers, and then convert those 4 digit numbers to dollars and sense for the menus. If you're going to use 4 sections in your menu, you'll want to create a 4 by 4 forcing matrix.

Great post Scott - thanks very much for that information. I knew there must be some overriding principle behind it and was busy working on a spreadsheet of my own before I dipped back into here for a gander to see if there were any replies.

So - forcing matrix it is then. Now I can start working on that little dark effect I've had in the back of my mind and only just got time to dedicate to it.

Nice to see people helping each other out on here.

Thanks again!
Matt