By George Hart for the Museum of Mathematics

Continuing last week’s theme of mathematical coffee tables, here is one designed by Michael Serra, inspired by the work of Piet Hein.

The base consists of six pieces from a set of Hein’s SOMA puzzle, so the remaining two pieces are available as end tables. The glass top is a superellipse, a shape which Hein used for many design purposes, because it interpolates between a circle and a square.

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