deriving methodology from classicsI’ve been working for the Msc AAC on a paper which looks at the possibilities of devising a research methodology based on D’Arcy Thompson’s Cartesian Transformations Method (”On Growth and Form”, 1918), which would be relevant to the call for science of buildings expressed in Philip Steadman’s “Evolution of Designs” (1979). The above is a quick processing sketch written in order to visualize the first step of the imagined “Transformations Method”. The base drawing is a floor plan of Paris Opera House, which comes from Durand’s comparison of the forms of theaters contemporary to him, done in 1801. Steadman refers to Durand’s work when he discusses the notion of classificatory analogy in his book.
This book draws on geometric ideas from cultural activities from Subsaharan Africa, and demonstrates how they may be explored to develop mathematical reasoning from school level through to university standard. Paulus Gerdes provides a thoroughly illustrated and researched exploration of mathematical ideas, motifs and patterns. Many important mathematical points are brought to the fore, not via the formal 'theorem-proof' method, but in a more schematic and diagrammatic manner. African artifacts, oral traditions, sand drawing and other forms of artwork with a geometric basis, all provide mathematical ideas for discussion in this unique book. Mathematicians and teachers of mathematics at all levels will be fascinated, as will anybody with an interest in African cultures.
