Gerardo wrote: >what makes a variation precisely a variation?
I doubt there is any possibility of a precise answer. However, I always like to make a distinction between a variation and a development, a variation being a small change, such as opening a flap to create a colour change, which does not change the fundamental characteristics of the design, and a development being a larger change which usually brings in a new design idea on top of what is already there. Easy to say this ... much harder to back it up with actual examples. But, for instance, if we think about modular origami and take Robert E Neale's classic 6 waterbomb base octahedron we can see that it is, for instance, possible to vary it by working a colour change on half the arms - the ones that go outside the others. Equally it is possible to sink all the corners ... and end up with Ed Sullivan's XYZ. These small sorts of changes I would call variations. If we change more aspects of the original design ... and forgive me but I am now going to use my own designs as examples here ... because those are the ones I know best ... we can bring out some of the arms into points and end up with the Semi-Star ... or completely distort the form and end up with the Enigma Cube. Equally we could use the design as a macromodule and end up with the Octahedral Pyramid. I tend to regard all these as developments rather than variations ... though I cannot draw a precise line at the point where a variation ends and a development begins ... so that I guess it will always be possible to debate whether a design is one of the other. If you don't know the designs I am talking about see http://www.origamiheaven.com/papercrystals.htm and http://www.origamiheaven.com/macromodularorigami.htm Dave
