Does listening to Morton Feldman’s ‘Crippled Symmetry’ suite (above) remind you of a Persian rug? If not, you may not be attuned to Feldman’s repetitions and variations – which, on closer inspection, may, it’s said, in some senses, resonate with patterns on rugs. But, academically speaking, possible common threads have not been studied in […]
Tag: pattern
Classification and Computer Generation of Necktie Patterns
Is it possible to create a simple computerised system to cover all characteristics of necktie patterns – and that can also generate patterns similar to existing neckties? Researchers Hiroshi Fukuda, Tomoko Saito and Gisaku Nakamura of the School of Administration and Informatics, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka 422, Japan – as far back as 1994* […]
Where the statistical wear is
Ivars Peterson, in his blog, The Mathematical Tourist, explains how a detective take a mathematical approach to some everyday questions: Marks on objects can provide intriguing statistical glimpses of usage patterns. The darkened leaves of a well-thumbed book may point to favorite passages; the distinctive hollows of oft-traversed steps suggest the characteristic tread of countless […]
A wide-ranging look at the number 3 in reality
The number 3 draws much of the focus in this study: “The intriguing human preference for a ternary patterned reality,” Lionello Pogliani, Douglas J. Klein [pictured here], and Alexandra T. Balaban, Kragujevac Journal of Science, 27 (2005): 75-114. The authors, at Università della Calabria, Italy and Texas A&M University at Galveston, USA, explain: “Number three […]
A technological way to create temporary images in/on a head of hair
Everyone with a head of hair—not just the members of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS)—is likely to be intrigued by this new patent for creating images in/on a head of hair. Think of the images as nano-patterned temporary tattoos, if you like: “Hair treatment process providing dispersed colors by light diffraction,” US patent […]
Pattern recognition: Similar composers & actors
The Queensland Symphony Orchestra is assembling a collection of photos of composers and actors who physically resembled each other. The entire collection is on the orchestra’s web site. Here’s a small sampling: (Thanks to investigator Charles Krause for bringing this to our attention.)
Chest hair patterns of white males
Pattern recognition is much-discussed topic in both artificial intelligence and psychology. A 1965 medical study performed pattern recognition on the chest hair of white males: “Variations of the hair patterns of the chest of white males,” Laurel Raymond Setty, Journal of the National Medical Association, vol. 57, no. 3, May 1965, pp. 211–4. The author, […]
When is a shoe like a face?
When is a shoe like a face? The answer (or one answer, at least) is in the study: “Statistical Discrimination of Footwear: A Method for the Comparison of Accidentals on Shoe Outsoles Inspired by Facial Recognition Techniques,” Nicholas Dominick Koslap Petraco, Carol Gambino, Thomas A. Kubic, Dayhana Olivio and Nicholas Petraco, J Forensic Sci, Vol. […]