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Mathematical String Sculptures: A Case Study in Computationally-Enhanced Mathematical Crafts

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Abstract

Mathematical string sculptures constitute an extremely beautiful realm of mathematical crafts. This snapshot begins with a description of a marvelous (and no longer manufactured) toy called Space Spider, which provided a framework with which children could experiment with string sculptures. Using a computer-controlled laser cutter to create frames for weaving string, not only can we recreate the original toy, but we can also experiment with a variety of new frame geometries. This snapshot concludes with a discussion of additional ways in which computational tools and output devices can enhance the practice of this particular mathematical craft.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ann Eisenberg for the photographs in Figs. 4–8. Kaylin Spitz built one of the Fig. 7 constructions; Ted Chen designed and programmed the HyperSpider application. Gerhard Fischer, Mark Gross, Clayton Lewis, and Andee Rubin have been the instigators of especially wonderful conversation on the subject of this paper. The research described in this paper was partially funded by the National Science Foundation under awards no. EIA-0326054, and REC0125363.

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  1. Department of Computer Science and Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Campus Box 430, Boulder, CO, USA

    Michael Eisenberg

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  1. Michael Eisenberg
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Correspondence to Michael Eisenberg.

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Eisenberg, M. Mathematical String Sculptures: A Case Study in Computationally-Enhanced Mathematical Crafts. Int J Comput Math Learning 12, 157–166 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-007-9117-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-007-9117-z

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