An object that's intrinsically flat, say a piece of paper, can be shaped into a cylinder without stretching or tearing it. The same isn't true, however, for something intrinsically curved like a ...

A mathematician has developed a new way to uncover simple patterns that might underlie apparently complex systems, such as clouds, cracks in materials or the movement of the stockmarket. The method, ...

Tessellations aren’t just eye-catching patterns—they can be used to crack complex mathematical problems. By repeatedly reflecting shapes to tile a surface, researchers uncovered a method that links ...

Circles, triangles and squares. One of the first things we learn as children are basic geometric shapes. And they stay with us throughout our lives. Maybe it’s that sense of familiarity that makes ...

People constantly ask how I map complex graphics onto typography. They assume I use software to warp a digital image over a ...

Mathematics and art are generally viewed as very different disciplines – one devoted to abstract thought, the other to feeling. But sometimes the parallels between the two are uncanny. From Islamic ...

A study of medieval Islamic art has shown some of its geometric patterns use principles established centuries later by modern mathematicians. Researchers in the US have found 15th Century examples ...