Beautiful Symmetry: Exploring Mathematics Through Interactive Illustrations

Beautiful Symmetry is a “coloring book about math” that is both on the web and in print. The mathematical concepts it presents show themselves in illustrations that are interactive and animated online. Throughout the book there are visual puzzles and coloring challenges.The book is about symmetry. Group theory is used as the mathematical foundation to discuss its content and interactive visuals are used to help communicate the concepts. Group theory and other mathematical studies of symmetry are traditionally covered in college level or higher courses, but these exciting parts of mathematics can be introduced with language that is visual, and with words that avoid jargon. Such an introduction is the intention of this “book”.
The coloring book is available in print, published by the MIT Press. However, it was developed as a web application first, and will remain a free online resource. The online version has already reached tens of thousands of users across the world.
The interactive medium of this “book” provides a new mechanism to engage math learners who may be left behind by traditional pedagogy. Its content is communicated with visuals that illustrate the symmetries that the book is about. These illustrations are interactive. They regenerate and animate online, to more clearly show their symmetries. This presentation will be visually founded and interactive. It will give a brief overview of the symmetry groups, patterns, and “coloring challenges” (puzzles!) presented in Beautiful Symmetry.

http://beautifulsymmetry.onl