Mathematics plays a very particular role in the quest for knowledge. Whether mathematicians are involved in invention or discovery, the tools that they develop have constituted the very basis of science for more than 2000 years. Mathematics, which has been considered for too long as a mere language in which to formulate the laws of nature, is now recognized as a creative thought process that can be used to discover new entities and phenomena.

Yet scientific knowledge is undoubtedly not the only way of comprehending the infinite wealth of phenomena in our universe. Art, the quest for beauty and the indefinable, is another way forward, a means of progress that is parallel to the means provided by science, and we surmise that still more possibilities exist, probably more than we could ever imagine.

---Jean-Francois Colonna, Centre de Mathematiques Appliquees, Ecole Polytechnique, www.lactamme.polytechnique.fr

6 files, last one added on Jun 20, 2008

Weavers of beads use a needle and thread to sew beads together to make decorative objects including jewelry, wall hangings, sculptures, and baskets. Some bead weave designers weave beads into composite clusters, usually with at least one large hole, called beaded beads. Mathematically, many beaded beads can be viewed as polyhedra, with each bead (or, more precisely, the hole through the middle of each bead, which provides its orientation) corresponding to an edge of the polyhedron. Different weaving patterns will bring different numbers of these "edges" together to form the vertices of the polyhedron. So it is very natural to use various polyhedra as the inspiration for beaded bead designs. Mathematics, including geometry, symmetry, and topology, is an inspiration for the structure of these woven bead creations. Across cultures and continents, humans show a natural affinity towards the aesthetic of pattern and order, and this art form appeals to this aesthetic in a tactile, tangible form. --- Gwen L. Fisher, Ph.D., California Polytechnic State
University, San Luis Obispo, and beAd Infinitum (www.beadinfinitum.com)

6 files, last one added on Apr 07, 2008

Since high school I have been fascinated by geometry. I enjoyed constructing the more complicated Platonic solids with ruler and compasses, as well as reading about the 4th dimension. While at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, I was introduced to the field of Computer Graphics, and later developed the Berkeley UniGrafix rendering system, so that I could depict objects more complex than I could build. Since then, the focus of my work has been on computer-aided design (CAD) tools -- for engineers, architects, and artists. When creating abstract sculptures I see myself as a composer in the realm of pure geometry. The artistic achievement then lies in finding a procedural formulation that can reflect the inherent symmetries and constructive elegance that seems to lie beneath many sculptural master pieces as well as at the foundations of the physical laws of our universe.

--- Carlo Sequin

8 files, last one added on Jul 02, 2008