You may, perhaps, be wondering just what the Hyperbolic Coral Reef is?
So glad you asked!
It’s a project started in Australia by two crocheting sisters seeking to call attention to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef.
Interestingly, there’s a mathematical angle to all this. I will likely not get this entirely right, but basically for some time mathematicians denied there was a hyperbolic function until Mr Vincenzo Riccati and Johann Heinrich Lambert came up with it in 1760. This despite the fact that many coral grow hyperbolically, so there were examples right under their nose (or toes).
And you can crochet a hyperbolic function by simply creating a chain and doubling it for every stitch–example below:
It was a powerful visual and experience to remind me you can start with something very simple–a single chain stitch. Then do something very simple–double it. And if you continue to add these simple building blocks, you can create something of amazing complexity–perhaps even beauty. Just think about the single cell dividing and dividing and what remarkable organism it can come up with!
The Smithsonian Community Reef is a satellite of the worldwide Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project created by Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute For Figuring in Los Angeles. It was made possible through the support of the Quiksilver Foundation, the Embassy of Australia, and the Coral Reef Alliance. Find out more about Margaret and Christine Wertheim and the Institute For Figuring in Los Angeles here, and their Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project here. Find out more about the upcoming exhibition of the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef and Smithsonian Community Reef at the National Museum of Natural History on the Museum’s Smithsonian Community Reef Temporary Exhibitions Page. To be included on this e-mail circulation list (or removed from it) please contact sicommunityreef@yahoo.com.
-
You may, perhaps, be wondering just what the Hyperbolic Coral Reef is?So glad you asked!It’s a project started in Australia by two crocheting sisters seeking to call attention to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. Interestingly, there’s a mathematical angle to all this. I will likely not get this entirely right, but basically for […]
-
You may, perhaps, be wondering just what the Hyperbolic Coral Reef is?So glad you asked!It’s a project started in Australia by two crocheting sisters seeking to call attention to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. Interestingly, there’s a mathematical angle to all this. I will likely not get this entirely right, but basically for […]
-
You may, perhaps, be wondering just what the Hyperbolic Coral Reef is?So glad you asked!It’s a project started in Australia by two crocheting sisters seeking to call attention to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. Interestingly, there’s a mathematical angle to all this. I will likely not get this entirely right, but basically for […]
-
You may, perhaps, be wondering just what the Hyperbolic Coral Reef is?So glad you asked!It’s a project started in Australia by two crocheting sisters seeking to call attention to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. Interestingly, there’s a mathematical angle to all this. I will likely not get this entirely right, but basically for […]
-
You may, perhaps, be wondering just what the Hyperbolic Coral Reef is?So glad you asked!It’s a project started in Australia by two crocheting sisters seeking to call attention to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. Interestingly, there’s a mathematical angle to all this. I will likely not get this entirely right, but basically for […]
Featured Books
THE REDEMPTION OF HEATHCLIFF
✧༺♥༻∞Retelling of a classic with a Happily Ever After! ∞༺♥༻✧
More info →
COME MIDNIGHT
A routine flight turns into a suspenseful race through the remote jungles of Honduras
More info →
ISN’T IT BROMANTIC
With his passion for romance novels, it was only a matter of time before Vlad wrote one.
More info →
THIS MAGIC MOMENT
She knows in her blood and in her bones that her Destiny is a member of the Clan. She must reject him as an enemy. But can she?
More info → 
Very cool! I will have to learn more. The hyperbolic coral made remarkable ruffles.
You can catch Margaret Wertheim's TED lecture:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/margaret_wertheim_crochets_the_coral_reef.html
or just search on hyperbolic coral ted. it's somehow reassuring that everything is connected.
I've crochet a hyperbolic plane and knit several Möbius strips. The first makes a lovely scrubby as well as a cool mathematical object. The Möbius strip makes a wonderful scarf that doesn't fall off. I’m currently knitting a Fibonacci striped sweater –few people will know when I wear it, but it does amuse me. And darn if I didn’t knit a Sierpinski shawl for a friend. Sigh!
Clearly –Marianne the math geek!