scienceFeb 19, 202511:53pending
OEIS A000136: Stamp Folding and the Shuffle Pattern
About this episode
Join us as we explore A000136, the classic stamp-folding sequence. We trace how alternating folds—the shuffle pattern—drive a combinatorial explosion, helping explain why the counts jump from 1, 2, 6, 16, 50 and grow astronomically with more stamps. The discussion ties stamp folding to the caboosal puzzle and its restricted folding regimes (still NP-complete), shedding light on the deep structure behind this deceptively simple problem. We’ll also touch on a historical 1907 puzzle that foreshadowed these ideas and the role of computational origami in modern combinatorics.
Note: This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information.
Sponsored by Embersilk LLC
Get every episode summarized
Each time Intellectually Curious publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Intellectually Curious
Claude’s Autonomous Formalization of Fermat’s Last Theorem
Intellectually Curious
Sep 13, 20266:48completed
Random Attention: How AI Gets Faster by Forgetting
Intellectually Curious
Sep 12, 20266:13completed
The Alien Anatomy of the Bigfin Squid
Intellectually Curious
Sep 11, 20265:48completed
Beyond the Mouse: How AI Agents Learned to Use Computers
Intellectually Curious
Sep 10, 20265:15completed