The mathekniticians and their amazing woolly maths creations

This is related to the work of Latvian mathematician Daina Taimina from Cornell University. She has been using crocheting as an educational tool for illustrating hyperbolic space.

Her TEDx Talk about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1TBZhd-sN0

Her Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daina_Taimina

There are some interesting patterns in there, and I think that presenting that kind of information visually can be useful in a teaching environment; there are a few subjects which seem to turn people off, but a lot of it is that it's presented in a particular way, and a visual representation of some patterns in maths can be useful in terms of understanding.

I teach Music Tech, but as part of the course I have to look at how computers store audio, which leads us to binary. Every time I present this, I'm expecting glazed expressions and people switching off, but I try to present it in an interesting way, solving the "problem" of why computers have to count in binary. And it seems to work; most years when I do that class, I get people switching "on" and saying something like "Oh, THAT's why we see those same numbers over and again" (i.e. powers of 2). I'll definitely be using the binary representation in the article when I teach it next year... (If I'd seen it this time last week, I'd have been able to use it!)

My wife made a Sirpinsky quilt a few years back.

Edit: pic https://www.flickr.com/photos/94816668@N00/2801479427

Related: My Prime Factorization Sweater, by Sondra Eklund.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3905733

No crocheted Klein bottles, or other woolly yet non-orientable surfaces? I remember those going round the lecture theatres, when I was doing my maths degree, more than ten years ago.

Pat and Steve are regulars at my annual MathsJam gathering, their work is wonderful, and they are such enthusiasts.

Lovely people, lovely write-up.

Similar, but in 3d: Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, Daina Taimina, https://www.amazon.com/Crocheting-Adventures-Hyperbolic-Plan...

Jacquard Loom's revenge