Show HN: The King Wen Permutation: [52, 10, 2]
![NOW LET US Article – Show HN: The King Wen Permutation: [52, 10, 2]](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fdefault-11.png&w=3840&q=75)
Researchers have uncovered a hidden mathematical structure in the 3,000-year-old King Wen sequence of the I Ching. By treating the sequence as a permutation, they revealed a unique cycle decomposition [52, 10, 2] that has never been documented before.
A hidden mathematical structure in a 3,000-year-old Chinese text
The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching have two canonical orderings: the binary natural order (0–63) and the King Wen sequence (~1000 BCE). Treating the map between them as a permutation in S₆₄, its cycle decomposition yields [52, 10, 2] with zero fixed points. 81% of hexagrams are locked in a single cycle. This structure has not been previously reported in the literature.
Properties of the King Wen permutation σ ∈ S₆₄
22 explorations — everything runs client-side in your browser
Source: Hacker News
