Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes

Description

With more than 200 full color photographs, this non-traditional, tactile introduction to non-Euclidean geometries also covers early development of geometry and connections between geometry, art, nature, and sciences. For the crafter or would-be crafter, there are detailed instructions for how to crochet various geometric models and how to use them in explorations. From the Foreword by William Thurston: ''These models have a fascination far beyond their visual appearance. As illustrated in the book, there is actually negative curvature and hyperbolic geometry all around us, but people generally see it without seeing it. You will develop an entirely new understanding by actually following the simple instructions and crocheting! The models are deceptively interesting. Perhaps you will come up with your own variations and ideas. In any case, I hope this book gives you pause for thought and changes your way of thinking about mathematics.'' Content: ch. 1. What is the hyperbolic plane? Can we crochet it? -- ch. 2. What can you learn from your model? -- ch. 3. Four strands in the history of geometry -- ch. 4. Tidbits from the history of crochet -- ch. 5. What is non-Euclidean geometry? -- ch. 6. How to crochet a pseudosphere and a symmetric hyperbolic plane -- ch. 7. Metamorphoses of the hyperbolic plane -- ch. 8. Other surfaces with negative curvature : catenoid and helicoid -- ch. 9. Who is interested in hyperbolic geometry now and how can it be used?