Crochet = Maths?

Ok so in my time off in the wonderful land of unemployment (between jobs! I’m not a bum usually I promise) I have a lot of time on my hands. I feel very unproductive so I make things to feel productive, hence my recent foray into....*cough* crochet.

Now you probably normally associate the word crochet with grandmas, cups of tea and doilies. But you can crochet anything such as...





Vegetables! - from Eternal Sunshine on etsy





Ninja attack! - from PaRaP on flickr

Now mathematicians are getting in on the act, two mathematicians in Bristol crocheted a huge Lorenz manifold. The Lorenz model is used to describe chaotic systems such as turbulent water and weather. After looking at their computer models the mathematicians realised the models could be reinterpreted as crochet instructions. Resulting in this beauty

Lorenz manifold in crochet form - University of Bristol 

And now others have followed suit making hyperbolic planes resulting in crochet coral reefs. The first Crochet Coral Reef popped up in 2007 and 'satellite reefs' are being created all over the world. For more info see here.

Crochet coral reef - stitchlily

RiAus are looking for a project manager to manage the creation and installation of a hyperbolic crochet coral reef in Adelaide. More details here. So get your hooks out and start crocheting, it's not too hard to learn (took me a few hours to get the hang of it) there's plenty of tutorials around the web, and you too could have your own hyperbolic coral reef, Lorenz manifold or ninja army.

Mate, give us a hand would ya?

Credit: Joshua Plotnik, University of Cambridge

(Woot, first post written by me.)

Using a classic animal psychology experiment scientists have shown elephants understand cooperation and will help each other out when needed.

Joshua Plotnik and his team conducted a classic 1930’s cooperation experiment (originally designed for chimpanzees) on a small group of elephants at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre.

The experiment involved a table with a rare treat of corn, being placed out of reach of the elephants. Two elephants were released down separate aisles, the only way to get to the table was for both elephants to pull on the rope in their aisle simultaneously.

If only one end of the rope was pulled the rope would slide out from around the table and the treat would remain out of reach.

Elephants are up there with chimpanzees and dolphins in terms of intelligence. Unfortunately there aren’t many studies documenting their smarts, due to the dangerous nature of working with such large animals.

Elephants also demonstrate cooperation in the wild. Female elephants will care for a calf regardless of whether it’s theirs. If an elephant is stuck others will help to push and pull it out of a sticky situation. Elephants have also been observed bringing food to other elephants and grouping together to protect calves from predators.

It’s exciting to see that such diverse animals from separate families are developing a similar level of intelligence.

You can read more about the study at the link below, Plotnik was also involved in the study that demonstrated elephants can recognise themselves in a mirror. 

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/03/02/1101765108.abstract?sid=318d9360-12f3-4206-b00f-1d4dc2b976a6