Do you like the taste of garlic? I do! Do you like the shape of garlic, with a bulb (head) containing bulblets (cloves)? I do! I love geometry and topology, but because I have neither a strong aptitude for nor any formal education (beyond a GCSE that I flunked many years ago) in maths, I often struggle with these subjects. I find that relating these subjects to food, which I can grasp more intuitively (funny that), is helpful. A garlic bulb bears a close resemblance to a shape called a corrugated sphere. This shape is very useful in the eversion of a sphere - the turning of a sphere inside out without any folds or creases. Intuitively, the eversion of a sphere seems like it shouldnt be possible. But mathematically, it IS possible. This is known as Smales paradox, after the American mathematician Stephen Smale (who proved it in 1958). The video below takes you through the whole thing slowly and patiently, using a method of sphere eversion developed (in 1974) by another American mathematician, the late Bill Thurston. Remember the garlic and check it out. If I can indulge in a bilingual pun, the whole thing demonstrates that maths is good for what ails you.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 07:24:42 +0000