You might already know about the idea of crocheting hyperbolic surfaces, invented by Daina Taimina in 1997. Well, since then, the idea has been developed considerably, and I don’t think it would be hyperbolic to say people have got a bit carried away.
Margaret and Christine Wertheim, who are a science writer and a poet/performer respectively and The Institute for Figuring collectively, started work on a crochet coral reef in 2005 using Taimina’s ideas. Since then, it has grown into a vast international effort involving over 7,000 people working together to create something that’s a mixture of mathematical neatness, fascinating art exhibit, and environmental awareness project.
Anyway. the reason I mention all this is that the Wertheims want to publish a book about the project, and they’re raising money to do it on Kickstarter. Here’s the pitch:
As I write, they’re two-thirds of the way towards their \$27,000 target. The usual Kickstarter rules apply: if this is the kind of thing that floats your boat, have a look at the pitch page and decide if you want to give them some money. The crucial information is that \$45 gets you a copy of the book on release. I couldn’t help but notice the interesting names given to the higher reward tiers, working up from “Euclidean” at \$100 to “Lobachevskian” and “Gaussian” at the top end.
More information
Crochet Coral Reef: The Book at Kickstarter.
Crochet Coral Reef official site.
Thanks Christian and other Aperiodicals for promoting our book on the Crochet Coral Reef. Its a unique fusion of math+art+marine science+environmental consciousness. Through the project and its many exhibitions worldwide, we’ve introduced more than 3 million visitors to non-Euclidean geometry. As a science writer I’ve never seen any science program get this sort of grass roots traction. Thanks for your support from all of us at the IFF.