Domino, also known as dominoes or domino tiles, are small rectangular blocks used as gaming pieces. They have a central line with squared edges that separate two sides that are marked with numbers and values, either spots or blanks, depending on the type of domino. They are usually twice as long as they are wide, and the ends are arranged in a manner that allows them to be re-stacked after use. Dominoes are often stacked to create structures such as walls, houses, or castles. A number of games can be played with a set of dominoes, the most popular being a game called Twenty-One, in which players attempt to build the longest line of dominoes possible before they all fall over.
While dominoes are typically used in games, they can also be used for creative purposes like making artwork and displays. Many people enjoy constructing intricate domino art, using straight lines to form curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. This type of art requires careful planning, and some pieces can take several nail-biting minutes to complete.
Likewise, when it comes to writing fiction, each scene is like a domino that must be carefully positioned so that when it falls, the story will progress. If one scene doesn’t fit with the scenes that come before it, then the entire sequence of events will fail to engage readers.
Some writers prefer to plan out their plots ahead of time, drafting outlines and using software such as Scrivener to weed out scenes that don’t fit. Others write by the seat of their pants, and let the story guide them. But whatever method is used, the idea of domino is the same: each scene must be carefully positioned so that when it crashes down, the story will progress as it should.
When Hevesh, the artist who created the video above, creates her mind-blowing domino installations, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. First, she considers the purpose of the project. She then brainstorms images and words she might want to incorporate in the design. After that, she calculates how many dominoes are needed to accomplish the desired goal, and she draws a sketch of the track.
When Hevesh is done, all she has to do is stand back and watch her masterpiece tumble according to the laws of physics. It takes a few nail-biting minutes for her largest setups to finally fall, but once they do, the results are spectacular. Hevesh’s meticulous planning and her mastery of the laws of physics allow her to achieve amazing effects that would be impossible for most people to recreate.