
Discovering Patterns in Mathematics and Poetry
Rodopi (Publisher)
Published on 1. January 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
216 pages
978-90-420-2370-3 (ISBN)
Description
You are invited to join a fascinating journey of discovery, as Marcia Birken and Anne C. Coon explore the intersecting patterns of mathematics and poetry - bringing the two fields together in a new way.
Setting the tone with humor and illustrating each chapter with countless examples, Birken and Coon begin with patterns we can see, hear, and feel and then move to more complex patterns. Number systems and nursery rhymes lead to the Golden Mean and sestinas. Simple patterns of shape introduce tessellations and concrete poetry. Fractal geometry makes fractal poetry possible. Ultimately, patterns for the mind lead to questions: How do mathematicians and poets conceive of proof, paradox, and infinity? What role does analogy play in mathematical discovery and poetic expression?
The book will be of special interest to readers who enjoy looking for connections across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Discovering Patterns in Mathematics and Poetry features centuries of creative work by mathematicians, poets, and artists, including Fibonacci, Albrecht Duerer, M. C. Escher, David Hilbert, Benoit Mandelbrot, William Shakespeare, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Langston Hughes, E.E. Cummings, and many contemporary experimental poets. Original illustrations include digital photographs, mathematical and poetic models, and fractal imagery.
Setting the tone with humor and illustrating each chapter with countless examples, Birken and Coon begin with patterns we can see, hear, and feel and then move to more complex patterns. Number systems and nursery rhymes lead to the Golden Mean and sestinas. Simple patterns of shape introduce tessellations and concrete poetry. Fractal geometry makes fractal poetry possible. Ultimately, patterns for the mind lead to questions: How do mathematicians and poets conceive of proof, paradox, and infinity? What role does analogy play in mathematical discovery and poetic expression?
The book will be of special interest to readers who enjoy looking for connections across traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Discovering Patterns in Mathematics and Poetry features centuries of creative work by mathematicians, poets, and artists, including Fibonacci, Albrecht Duerer, M. C. Escher, David Hilbert, Benoit Mandelbrot, William Shakespeare, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Langston Hughes, E.E. Cummings, and many contemporary experimental poets. Original illustrations include digital photographs, mathematical and poetic models, and fractal imagery.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Publishing group
Brill
Target group
Adult education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
322 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-420-2370-3 (9789042023703)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Marcia Birken and Anne C. Coon have collaborated for over twenty years, exploring the connections between mathematics and literature in their research, writing, and team-teaching. The co-authors of numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, they are faculty members at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York. Birken is Professor Emeritus in the School of Mathematical Sciences, College of Science, and Coon is Sr. Associate Dean and Professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts.
Content
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Counting Patterns
Chapter 2 - Counting Patterns Take Form
Chapter 3 - Patterns of Shape
Chapter 4 - Fractal Patterns
Chapter 5 - Patterns for the Mind
Chapter 6 - Conclusion
Permissions Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Counting Patterns
Chapter 2 - Counting Patterns Take Form
Chapter 3 - Patterns of Shape
Chapter 4 - Fractal Patterns
Chapter 5 - Patterns for the Mind
Chapter 6 - Conclusion
Permissions Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index