Fragments of Infinity: A Kaleidoscope of Math and Art

Rating:
Summary: Lovely choice of art but needlessly limited - and shaky math
Review: "Fragments of Infinity: A Kaleidescope of Math and Art" is a compilation of beautiful examples of mathematical art. It will give the lay reader more than an inkling of the connection between advanced math and beauty -- a connection that is ordinarily very difficulat to convey. And it will give the mathematics professional something to savor as well.

Unfortunately, the book has two major flaws:

1) It entirely omits art from computer graphics, which is perhaps the largest source of extraordinarily beautiful mathematically-based art these days -- and it is art which translates to the printed page just as well as traditional sculpture or painting does, and

2) This book displays a shaky grasp of mathematical concepts by the author and most likely an absence of fact-checking by the publisher. For example, although the book's main mathematical topic is geometry/topology, the author shows on page 141 that he does not even comprehend what a Moebius band is, where he claims that the triangular but assymetric recycling symbol is a Moebius band (correct), but that the symbol having full 3-way symmetry is not a Moebius band (incorrect). Unfortunately, gaffes like this are widespread in the author's previous books as well.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Combination of Math and Art
Review: Fragments of Infinity is one of my favorite books. One reason is because the author Mr. Peterson gives an indept explanation as to how mathematics and art work together. I really loved the pictures and illustrations. I actually used them as a guideline for my own artistic creations. I've even made several model spaceships with the information given. This book also has an excellent source of information for students of mathematics to use on everyday homework assignments. I would suggest this book for an artistic person, whether it be a child or adult, who has a problem with math because "Fragments of Infinity" is an excellent resource to enhance one's understanding of math along with the creativity of art.

Rating:
Summary: A great combination of art and mathematics
Review: Mathematics and art have many things in common, something that practitioners of both often go to great lengths to refute. In this book, Ivars Peterson, one of the truly great practitioners of the art of popular mathematical writing, shows us how intertwined they really are. The sculptures that he describes and explains are truly astonishing. I looked at some of the photos for several minutes, seeing many different things, even though I was limited to the two dimensional projection. Without a doubt, the piece itself must be truly breathtaking.
Many popular mathematics books have delved into the synergy of math and art, but never to this extent or with this effectiveness. This is by far the best book I have ever seen in this area and I recommend it to my artist friends as well as those who practice math.