I just watched science writer Margaret Wertheim's great TED talk about the project she and her sister are doing recreating coral reefs in crochet. (I am a TED talk addict!) Conceived as a way to speak about the effect of global warming on coral reefs, especially in her native Australia, the project reaches across the fields of "mathematics, marine biology, feminine handy craft, and environmental activism."
She and her sister chose crochet because it was the only way to model the complex hyperbolic geometry of coral.
The talk is really great, ranges from non-euclidian mathematics to the importance of "plastic modes of play" and paying attention to the things around you.
(btw, I know nothing about hyperbolic geometry or euclidian mathematics beyond what I learned from watching this talk.)
5 comments:
that's a neat project. looks tedious!
nice! I like them. Can you knit them?
Crap, my computer battery is about to die, but I would like to watch this because their work sounds interesting and looks beautiful!
Oh cool - what a great way to combine those incredibly varied topics and skills!
pretty amazing...
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