Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes

Winner of the Euler Book Prize -- Awarded by the Mathematical Association of America

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."

Daina Taimina was born in Riga, Latvia in 1954--the same year as an International Congress of Mathematicians pivotal to non-Euclidean geometry (as she describes in the Introduction), so her influence on the hyperbolic plane almost seems fated. Now a professor of mathematics at Cornell University, Taimina regularly participates in art exhibitions and educational workshops related to her crocheted models. She was nominated as one of the "Most Innovative People and Organizations in the Science and Technology World in 2006."