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Re: A Plethora of Polyhedra
Posted:
Apr 20, 2009 6:57 PM
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This looks really excellent, was just test driving and having fun.
Thanks to this being a Java applet, I was able to run it on my Mozilla Firefox browser running on Ubuntu 8.04 - the Hardy Heron - released in April 2008.
A handsome alternative, not an applet, but free if not-pro, is from the good folks at Peda ( http://peda.com ) where I've purchased posters as well. This won't run on my favorite open source platform however.
Our self schoolers in coffee shops often take an active interest in geometry, which is an aesthetically attractive subject, just right for bright public LCDs ("ambient video for airports" -- or coffee shops in airports).
Indeed, once a geometry class has taken the big leap and moved to real computers instead of just calculators, the old "flat land" stuff starts to lose its appeal, and it's not like Euclid ignored polyhedra (on the contrary).
Of course you might *still* want to explore non-Euclidean treatments in terms of what definitions to bring to bear, but that doesn't necessarily mean changes in software. Our discrete math standards allow for "not solid" ideas about these shapes. Emphasizing wire frames and translucency over "geometric solids" (the old way of thinking) is consistent with these new discrete math standards.
http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=6632259&tstart=0
I'll pass a link to your site back to our CTO, for cluing our "FOSS covens" (each shop tends to be surrounded by a bevy of geeks, per our open source business model). Your application may not be open source (I went looking for the code) but in terms of keeping the relevant geometry in the public eye, that's important to our curriculum and democratic goals.
You're doing a great job. Thx!
Kirby Urner CSN CMO http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/
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