Math + Art

I try to stay away from math related subjects, numbers are not my specialty. Numbers to me never appear in a positive light, it’s usually debt, fluctuating weight, or not enough zeros on a pay stub. Though putting aside my personal feelings, I generally consider myself to be very appreciative of the way mathematics influences and moves us forward as a species, whether it be in science, art, or both combined.

Weight and Money
http://mymindcoach.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Screenshot-2014-10-22-17.10.39.png

As a scholar who studies the east, it was fascinating to learn about the contributions the east had on the field of mathematics and art. Al Haytham, for example was a medieval muslim scholar who is considered a genius of his time in optics. His book of optics was hugely influential on renaissance artists, it transformed the way in which light and vision was understood, and it is considered the foundation of modern physical optics.

Kitab al-manazir (Book on Optics) 
http://alfutuhat.com/islamiccivilization/Agriculture/images/optics00.jpg

Learning about African Fractals was really insightful, both on what fractals are and how the african culture use them. A fractal is a pattern that repeats itself at different scales. Africans have been using fractals for centuries to design textiles, sculptures, architecture, hairstyles and more. Fractals are even used in technology by engineers creating antennas for cellphones. Antennas on wireless devices need similar reception over many different wave lengths, meaning it must have a similar structure at different scales, much like a fractal.

Ethiopian Fractals
http://homepages.rpi.edu/~eglash/eglash.dir/afractal/ethiop.jpg

Personally I never thought much of spirals, I just knew they were fun to draw and a hypnotist one day might use one to make me cluck like a chicken. But a spiral is so much more, it like a fractal is an ubiquitous natural phenomenon whose essence is its form. Logarithmic spirals depict growth and expansion in the universe, they can be reflected in structures as diverse as sea shells, whirlpools, hurricanes and even galaxies. If that wasn’t enough, in socio economic terms they can be seen in a stock market’s progress. Both fractals and spirals reveal underlying order within structures that seem chaotic on the surface.

Elliot Wave Pattern
http://www.elliottwave.com/images/freeupdates/Image/FiboFig3.jpg

The juxtaposition of art, math and science is always there, if one looks closely enough. While I usually don't fully understand and I can't relay to you the specifics of the symbiotic relationship, I can appreciate and acknowledge the history and contributions all three have made to one another in the past and ongoing present.

Sources:
Elliott Wave Pattern. Digital image. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://www.elliottwave.com/images/freeupdates/Image/FiboFig3.jpg>.
Ethiopian Fractals. Digital image. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://homepages.rpi.edu/~eglash/eglash.dir/afractal/ethiop.jpg>.
Kitab al-manazir (Book on Optics). Digital image. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://alfutuhat.com/islamiccivilization/Agriculture/images/optics00.jpg>.
Weight and Money. Digital image. Web. 9 Apr. 201616. <http://mymindcoach.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Screenshot-2014-10-22-17.10.39.png>.
"African Fractals." African Fractals. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/African_Fractals/homepage.html>.

Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets - Socionomics.nethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RE2Lu65XxTU