I personally am not able to review this book. If you want a full understanding of why, do go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZcUjYpjKZs&playnext_from=TL&videos=2PkKy...

which explains the great knitting/crochet divide. It is quite funny.

It will simply never bother me that I can’t knit hyperbolas. I’m sorry if this offends any crocheters. On second thoughts, no I’m not.

Still, this book has interest for a few reasons. One is that it won this year’s Oddest Booktitle of the Year award ahead of:

Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter by David Crompton.

Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots, by Ronald C. Arkin.

The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, by Ellen Scherl and Marla Dubinsky.

Third place: Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich, by James A. Yannes, receiving 11% of the vote.

Second place: What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua? by Tara Jansen-Meyer, 30% of the vote.

First place: Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, by Dr. Daina Taimina, 42% of the vote.

Another is the unlikeliness of seeing a book of crochet patterns being brought out by a science and technology publisher and reviewed by science and maths journals.

You can see a few pictures from the book here: http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/30/geek-out-crochet-sculptures-teach-higher...


Being a knitter, I can’t say anything positive about this book, but in the interests of fairness, I will quote the eminent mathematician William Thurston, who said of it:

“These models have a fascination far beyond their visual appearance. As illustrated in the book, there is actually negative curvature and hyperbolic geometry all around us, but people generally see it without seeing it. You will develop an entirely new understanding by actually following the simple instructions and crocheting! The models are deceptively interesting. Perhaps you will come up with your own variations and ideas. In any case, I hope this book gives you pause for thought and changes your way of thinking about mathematics.”

I’m sure it should, William, I’m sure it should, but.
( )

I personally am not able to review this book. If you want a full understanding of why, do go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZcUjYpjKZs&playnext_from=TL&videos=2PkKy...

which explains the great knitting/crochet divide. It is quite funny.

It will simply never bother me that I can’t knit hyperbolas. I’m sorry if this offends any crocheters. On second thoughts, no I’m not.

Still, this book has interest for a few reasons. One is that it won this year’s Oddest Booktitle of the Year award ahead of:

Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter by David Crompton.

Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots, by Ronald C. Arkin.

The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, by Ellen Scherl and Marla Dubinsky.

Third place: Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich, by James A. Yannes, receiving 11% of the vote.

Second place: What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua? by Tara Jansen-Meyer, 30% of the vote.

First place: Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, by Dr. Daina Taimina, 42% of the vote.

Another is the unlikeliness of seeing a book of crochet patterns being brought out by a science and technology publisher and reviewed by science and maths journals.

You can see a few pictures from the book here: http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/30/geek-out-crochet-sculptures-teach-higher...


Being a knitter, I can’t say anything positive about this book, but in the interests of fairness, I will quote the eminent mathematician William Thurston, who said of it:

“These models have a fascination far beyond their visual appearance. As illustrated in the book, there is actually negative curvature and hyperbolic geometry all around us, but people generally see it without seeing it. You will develop an entirely new understanding by actually following the simple instructions and crocheting! The models are deceptively interesting. Perhaps you will come up with your own variations and ideas. In any case, I hope this book gives you pause for thought and changes your way of thinking about mathematics.”

I’m sure it should, William, I’m sure it should, but.
( )

I personally am not able to review this book. If you want a full understanding of why, do go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZcUjYpjKZs&playnext_from=TL&videos=2PkKy...

which explains the great knitting/crochet divide. It is quite funny.

It will simply never bother me that I can’t knit hyperbolas. I’m sorry if this offends any crocheters. On second thoughts, no I’m not.

Still, this book has interest for a few reasons. One is that it won this year’s Oddest Booktitle of the Year award ahead of:

Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter by David Crompton.

Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots, by Ronald C. Arkin.

The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, by Ellen Scherl and Marla Dubinsky.

Third place: Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich, by James A. Yannes, receiving 11% of the vote.

Second place: What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua? by Tara Jansen-Meyer, 30% of the vote.

First place: Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, by Dr. Daina Taimina, 42% of the vote.

Another is the unlikeliness of seeing a book of crochet patterns being brought out by a science and technology publisher and reviewed by science and maths journals.

You can see a few pictures from the book here: http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/30/geek-out-crochet-sculptures-teach-higher...


Being a knitter, I can’t say anything positive about this book, but in the interests of fairness, I will quote the eminent mathematician William Thurston, who said of it:

“These models have a fascination far beyond their visual appearance. As illustrated in the book, there is actually negative curvature and hyperbolic geometry all around us, but people generally see it without seeing it. You will develop an entirely new understanding by actually following the simple instructions and crocheting! The models are deceptively interesting. Perhaps you will come up with your own variations and ideas. In any case, I hope this book gives you pause for thought and changes your way of thinking about mathematics.”

I’m sure it should, William, I’m sure it should, but.
( )

What a wonderful book! I got it from the library & I didn't make the time to do the crocheting. I think it would have been more fun if I had made the models & followed along with the constructions. Also I would have understood more. I did get a little lost in places. I loved how the history of geometry was presented; you get the sense of geometry as a global creation. And the possible uses of, and the thoughts about, the hyperbolic plane are fascinating.

Daina Taimina also does a wonderful job of taking a "women's craft" and showing how much it can contribute to our understanding of the world.