There is an interesting article in the NY Times that focuses on a few mathematicians with too much time on their hands and the mathematical insights they have had about the shapes of pasta. The article can be accessed here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/science/pasta-inspires-scientists-to-use-their-noodle.html?src=recg
One aspect of this is coming up with the equation that describes the shape of pasta and then using a program like Mathematica to visualize the resulting shape. For an example involving the pasta gemelli, see: http://shuisman.com/?p=369 For more experienced pasta eaters, here are a variety of pastas: http://shuisman.com/?p=1314 And for those whose appetites have been whetted, here is a book devoted to the topic titled "Pasta by Design"; see: http://www.thamesandhudson.com/9780500515808.html Now, I think that this represents a good example of how to show the basic mathematical nature of objects in physical reality even though most people would not be aware of the mathematics involved (one of the persons mentioned in the NY Times article claims to have used test items on his exams where the student had to match the correct equation to a specific pasta -- talk about understanding what the equation is about!). Too bad that the "shape" of human thought does not allow itself to such description. I'd love to have an exam question of the form: "match the 'thought' to the appropriate equation". ;-) -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=15205 or send a blank email to leave-15205-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
