Suzanne at the Math Forum
When I saw this (photo above) I suddenly saw symmetry. I’m taking @joshuazucker’s advice and not saying much more than that. Once I took the first photo this morning I continued walking to work and took these photos with that same theme in mind. What do you notice?
click on each photo to view a larger one
click on each photo to view a larger one
click on each photo to view a larger one
Yesterday when we left the house I had planned to look for “math” on our trip to New York City. I have a tendency to spot symmetrical objects/scenes and tessellations as I view the world and I just thought that Thursday would not be any different than other days. The first leg of our journey was on SEPTA from Morton to 30th Street in Philadelphia. I noticed the floor runner between the aisles of seats. I didn’t take a photo of it but when I got off the train, I took this photo:
It took me some time to fully realize what the dominant mathematical theme for the day would be. Once I got over the fact that tessellations were not going to dominate, I took these photos:
I should have had a clue when I chose what to wear in the morning!
Last week I used a memory from over 25 years ago and this week my thoughts turned to a memory that is probably only 15 years or so old. For some reason I’m attracted to patterns — I look for them constantly. In fact, in part it was my fascination with tessellations that led me to my Math Forum job! Unlike Lee’s question about the world turning color, I can’t exactly pinpoint when our older son Niko commented to me about my “eye” to patterns but I remember the conversation. I was noticing out loud something that focused my attention and Niko said, “Mom, you just think that way, don’t you?” And I said, “Yes. I’m not sure why but as I encounter the world my eye focuses on shapes and designs and color. I’m always looking for a pattern.”
It seems normal for me and I can’t imagine that others don’t see what I see. This morning as I was thinking about this I thought that I’d look through my iPhoto library to find a couple of photos I might have taken. I started laughing because I have quite a collection. Below are a few that I chose to share.
What do you see?
