A History Of Folding In Mathematics

While it is well known that the Delian problems are impossible to solve with a straightedge and compass – for example, it is impossible to construct a segment whose length is cube root of 2 with these instruments – the discovery of the Italian mathematician Margherita Beloch Piazzolla in 1934 that one can in fact construct a segment of length cube root of 2 with a single paper fold was completely ignored (till the end of the 1980s). This comes as no surprise, since with few exceptions paper folding was seldom considered as a mathematical practice, let alone as a mathematical procedure of inference or proof that could prompt novel mathematical discoveries. A few questions immediately arise: Why did paper folding become a non-instrument? What caused the marginalisation of this technique? And how was the mathematical knowledge, which was nevertheless transmitted and prompted by paper folding, later treated and conceptualised? Aiming to answer these questions, this volume provides, for the first time, an extensive historical study on the history of folding in mathematics, spanning from the 16th century to the 20th century, and offers a general study on the ways mathematical knowledge is marginalised, disappears, is ignored or becomes obsolete. In doing so, it makes a valuable contribution to the field of history and philosophy of science, particularly the history and philosophy of mathematics and is highly recommended for anyone interested in these topics.

Written by a world expert on the subject, Origametry is the first complete reference on the mathematics of origami. It is an essential reference for researchers of origami mathematics and applications in physics, engineering, and design. Educators, students, and enthusiasts will also enjoy this fascinating account of the mathematics of folding.

Paper folding not only simplifies the learning of mathematics it also builds an experiential base necessary for further learning. The exercises in this publication, appropriate at various grade levels, lead students to discover and demonstrate such mathematical relationships as reflections, transformations and symmetry.

The art of origami, or paper folding, is carried out using a square piece of paper to obtain attractive figures of animals, flowers or other familiar figures. It is easy to see that origami has links with geometry. Creases and edges represent lines, intersecting creases and edges make angles, while the intersections themselves represent points. Because of its manipulative and experiential nature, origami could become an effective context for the learning and teaching of geometry.In this unique and original book, origami is an object of mathematical exploration. The activities in this book differ from ordinary origami in that no figures of objects result. Rather, they lead the reader to study the effects of the folding and seek patterns. The experimental approach that characterizes much of science activity can be recognized throughout the book, as the manipulative nature of origami allows much experimenting, comparing, visualizing, discovering and conjecturing. The reader is encouraged to fill in all the proofs, for his/her own satisfaction and for the sake of mathematical completeness. Thus, this book provides a useful, alternative approach for reinforcing and applying the theorems of high school mathematics.

Problems involving paper folding for students to discover relationships between straight lines and angles.

Did you know that any straight-line drawing on paper can be folded so that the complete drawing can be cut out with one straight scissors cut? That there is a planar linkage that can trace out any algebraic curve, or even 'sign your name'? Or that a 'Latin cross' unfolding of a cube can be refolded to 23 different convex polyhedra? Over the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in such problems, with applications ranging from robotics to protein folding. With an emphasis on algorithmic or computational aspects, this treatment gives hundreds of results and over 60 unsolved 'open problems' to inspire further research. The authors cover one-dimensional (1D) objects (linkages), 2D objects (paper), and 3D objects (polyhedra). Aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics or computer science, this lavishly illustrated book will fascinate a broad audience, from school students to researchers.

What do proteins and pop-up cards have in common? How is opening a grocery bag different from opening a gift box? How can you cut out the letters for a whole word all at once with one straight scissors cut? How many ways are there to flatten a cube? You can answer these questions and more through the mathematics of folding and unfolding. From this book, you will discover new and old mathematical theorems by folding paper and find out how to reason toward proofs. With the help of 200 color figures, author Joseph O'Rourke explains these fascinating folding problems starting from high school algebra and geometry and introducing more advanced concepts in tangible contexts as they arise. He shows how variations on these basic problems lead directly to the frontiers of current mathematical research and offers ten accessible unsolved problems for the enterprising reader. Before tackling these, you can test your skills on fifty exercises with complete solutions. The book's Web site, http://www.howtofoldit.org, has dynamic animations of many of the foldings and downloadable templates for readers to fold or cut out.

is a unique collection of papers illustrating the connections between origami and a wide range of fields. The papers compiled in this two-part set were presented at the 6th International Meeting on Origami Science, Mathematics and Education (10-13 August 2014, Tokyo, Japan). They display the creative melding of origami (or, more broadly, folding) with fields ranging from cell biology to space exploration, from education to kinematics, from abstract mathematical laws to the artistic and aesthetics of sculptural design. This two-part book contains papers accessible to a wide audience, including those interested in art, design, history, and education and researchers interested in the connections between origami and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Part 1 contains papers on various aspects of mathematics of origami: coloring, constructibility, rigid foldability, and design algorithms.