Warming to Hyperbolic Space

"Though seemingly obvious, the property of “straightness” turns out to be a subtle and surprisingly fecund concept. Understanding this quality ultimately led mathematicians to discover a radical new kind of space that had hitherto seemed abhorrent and impossible."

Daina Taimina, a visiting professor at Cornell University, has come up with a way to translate the geometrical concept of hyperbolic space into tangible artifacts using crochet.
By increasing the stitches in each row, Tainima is able to represent the space where parallel lines run wild.
An explanation of the artifactured concepts is on display at The Institute For Figuring.



parallel lines in hyperbolic space


hyperbolic space pseudosphere