Graffiti math

In an article from New York State’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Math Lessons Get a Makeover, it says:

A researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has uncovered mathematics embedded in the designs of various aspects of native and contemporary culture, from traditional beadwork and basket weaving to modern hairstyles and music. Using the discovery, he’s developed a series of interactive, Web-based teaching tools that are capturing the interest − and imagination − of students in math classes across the country.

The Flash-based interactives allow you to create your own designs based on the artifacts of African, African American, Youth Subculture, Native American and Latino cultures.

The mathematics that is used in the designs is:

• fractal geometry,
• transformational geometry,
• Cartesian and polar coordinates,
• geometry,
• counting and
• modular math.

A few things:

1. This is hardly a new discovery. The tesellations and other geometric patterns used in art throughout history are well known.
2. The researcher claims that students on the programme "displayed a statistically significant increase in their attitudes toward computers". Hmmm - that’s great, but weren’t we trying to get them interested in mathematics?
3. I do agree with the researcher that "Making real-world connections − especially connections that tie in students’ heritage cultures − in math instruction has been recognized as increasingly important by educators"

But there is some interesting stuff in this. Those students with a visual learning style often miss out in the mathematics classroom.

Apart from all the ethnic designs in this work, the one that caught my eye was: Graffiti Grapher (link no longer available).

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