Software Developer Uses AI to Find First 3D "Einstein" Aperiodic Monotile, Chair44
pickover · x · 2026-09-24
Quanta Magazine reports that Ioannis Tsiokos, a software developer in Athens, claims to have found the first 3D aperiodic monotile—an "einstein" tile in three dimensions—dubbed Chair44, with AI doing the discovery work.
Background:
- Whether a single shape can fill space only aperiodically was a long-standing 3D puzzle
- The 2D story progressed from thousands of tiles (1960s) to two (1970s), then Joan Taylor's disconnected single tile (2009), and David Smith's connected "hat" shape (2022)
- On September 16, Tsiokos shared a paper claiming GPT-6 Astra produced the 3D solution: "The 3D Einstein was found by Astra, not me"
Tiling has long been hospitable to amateurs; this may mark a milestone for AI-assisted mathematical discovery.
Related event: Developer Finds First 3D Einstein Tile Using GPT Astra(2 posts)→
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