Posted by The year was 1739, when archaeologists uncovered a strange bronze artifact from a Roman treasure trove — a hollow dodecahedron with round knobs at each corner and circles of various sizes cut into its pentagonal faces. The first was dated to the second or third century, but since then, hundreds more have been found within the borders of the former Roman Empire.
No Matching Records
Since their discovery, their purpose has been a mystery. There are no surviving records to describe their use, yet they were valuable enough to be found in treasure hoards and common enough to suggest a they were practical tools. Some believed they were range finders for military commanders, or instruments for measuring road grades or building angles. But Roman engineers left detailed records of their methods — and none mention the dodecahedron.
There were no markings for measurement, and sizes varied widely, from 1.6 to 4.3 inches. Others speculated they were astronomical devices, but that didn’t explain the knobs or the lack of uniformity. Over the centuries, new theories piled up — candlestick holder, dice, child’s toy, religious relic, weapon, even a scepter head. Nothing fit.
Then, nearly two thousand years later, a different kind of mind cracked the code.
A Knitter Solves a Roman Mystery
In 2014, a hobbyist named Martin Hallet noticed that most of these dodecahedrons were found in colder regions of the Roman Empire. Hallet wasn’t a historian or mathematician — he was a knitter. And it took a knitter to recognize a knitter’s tool.
In a now-famous YouTube video, Hallet demonstrated that the dodecahedron was ideal for making gloves. The hollow core held the yarn, the corner knobs anchored it, and the varying holes gauged finger sizes. With little effort, he produced a perfectly fitted glove — just as Roman knitters may have done nearly two millennia ago.
The discovery went viral, but the real lesson wasn’t about gloves — it was about perspective.
When Expertise Gets in the Way
For centuries, scholars, engineers, and mathematicians studied the same object through the same narrow lens. What they lacked wasn’t intelligence — it was diversity of thought.
At Venture Up, we’ve seen this dynamic for decades. People naturally default to what they know. Engineers rely on formulas and logic. Social workers lead with empathy. Construction pros think through touch and trial. Each mindset works — until it doesn’t.
Our Escape Case team-building program demonstrates this perfectly. Every puzzle blends critical thinking, spatial reasoning, creativity, and communication. Teams stacked with one profession — say engineers or salespeople — often get stuck at the same point, while mixed teams solve problems faster. The difference? Perspective.
The Power of Diverse Thinking
A team full of analytical thinkers might overlook a hands-on clue. Social workers may struggle with a math sequence. Sales teams may skip steps in their haste to finish first. None of them fail from lack of skill — they stall from lack of contrast.
At one of our corporate programs in Houston, a team made up entirely of engineers got hung up for nearly twenty minutes on a puzzle that required simple trial and error — something their logical minds resisted. Across the room, a group of social workers breezed through that same task, only to hit a wall on a math challenge that the engineers would have solved in seconds. Each group was capable — they just saw the problem through one lens.
Whether it’s a Roman dodecahedron, a corporate puzzle, or a business problem, the pattern is the same: the answer comes from the unexpected angle. The knitter wasn’t smarter than the scholars — he simply saw differently.
Diversity of thought isn’t a corporate slogan. It’s a survival tool. The broader the mix of minds, the faster the breakthrough.
Venture Up (est. 1983) is the original team building company, helping organizations build trust and collaboration through real-world experiences.
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