2 Pi R and Making Nantucket Baskets

2 π (r+1) - 2 π r = 2 π ?

My lovely wife, Etsuko, was recently excited to tell me about something she had recently figured out about making Nantucket Baskets and how she discovered it using basic math.

First the plug: Etsuko makes museum quality Nantucket Baskets. Go to the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum on Nantucket Island and you can usually see one of her more recent works.
The Photo above is a Nantucket Lightship Basket made by Etsuko Yashiro. We also own a business  called GrayMist Studio and Shop, where we teach classes on making Nantucket baskets.

Next: to give you reference of the etymology of Nantucket Basket parts; unlike other forms of basketry, Nantucket Baskets were developed by the coopers (barrel makers) on the old whaling ships. This is why the parts of Nantucket baskets are named differently than traditional basket parts, and are similar to the parts of a barrel.

The top of Nantucket Baskets have two wooden rims: an outer rim, and an inner rim; sandwiched between the rims are the sides of the basket, called "staves." Generally speaking, staves are made of cane, and are 1 mm thick. Traditionally, rims are made by using a tape measure and some trial and error (depending on the thickness of your tape measure). Always looking to refine a process (part of being Japanese), Etsuko decided to use math to determine the lengths of the rims for round baskets.

In this photo you can see the inner rim and the outer rim with the staves sandwiched between. This is before the lashing is wound, and the seam between the rims are hidden. Photo - http://alltuckerdout.com/atobasket/make5.jpg

This is where her interesting personal discovery comes in. She says to me "I figured out that regardless of the size of the the basket - from the smallest round basket, to the largest; the difference in length between the inner rim and the outer rim is ALWAYS a 'hair' over 6 mm."

I thought this was counter-intuitive. I told her I would have thought that the difference in length between the inner rim and the outer rim would be proportional to the size of the basket. In other words, the longer the length of the rims, the greater the difference between the two. She said she always thought so too, but anecdotally noticed over the years that no matter the size of the round basket, the difference always looked about the same.

She went on to explain this in terms of basic math. I'll spare you the details, but I'll give you the overview. If you remember, the circumference of a circle is determined by:

          2 π r (r being the radius of the circle)

This would give us the length of the inner rim.

To calculate the length of the outer rim you would just add 1 to the radius or:

         2 π (r+1)

She showed me on paper, that the difference between 2 π (r+1) and 2 π r is 2 π.

Or 2 x π x (r+1) - 2 x π x r = 2 π

Otherwise known in millimeters as 6.28 mm - or "a hair over 6 mm." Since the value of the radius cancels each other out in terms of the difference, this is always true regardless of the value of the radius.

Isn't this cool? Maybe I didn't explain this well, or maybe you're saying "DUH....everyone knows that."

Etsuko and I thought it was cool.

Geek is the New Black: Why This is Important Pt. 2.

Read Part 1 (You don't have to because it is a separate topic):  

There is a favorable opportunity in the fashionable trends and climate of "cool" for educators wanting to inspire students to fuse art, design, science and technology. Remember when people said "It's hip to be square?" Or the Huey Lewis song?

It's an interesting sentiment but it never meant much in academics. That was more about growing out of the free wheelin' hippie lifestyle and into the 80's yuppie lifestyle. When Huey Lewis sang about being "square," he was referring to "Miami Vice" blazers and skinny ties.

But today, Geek IS the New Black.

It is now fashionable and cool to be geeky. To be clear, I didn't say nerdy, I said geeky; there's a difference. ¹ In the last decade there has been a very trendy and growing culture of cutting edge creatives; designers, musicians, and artists, who are fusing their approach with math, science, technology and engineering. These folks are in the forefront of developments from the likes of Google to new start-ups. They are the ones that you read and hear about who are well versed in riding the multi-million dollar waves of crowd sourcing (not surfing) and social media marketing. These are the cool geeks. They are the true Starbucks dwellers. They are hipsters.

Though it pains many hipsters to hear it, it is now the mainstream - at least Apple, Urban Outfitters, Starbucks, American Apparel, Anthropologie and even Target have successfully made it so. Don't think the hipster slacker air is the same as the Seattle Grunge slackers. No, hipsters are often highly educated and intellectual. Beyond the competence porn ² television shows I enjoy like House and CSI, who'd have thought a sitcom about a group of Cal Tech PHD post doc geeks and engineers would be such a hit - Big Bang Theory has been running for 4 years and is now THE SECOND most watched television show. Their guests appearances have included absolute Geek Rockstars like, Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Greene, Steve Wozniak, and even Ira Flatow.

As an educator, I see this as a great opportunity. This is better than student's being able to recognize an Erlenmeyer flask thanks to Breaking Bad.
In this geek/hipster culture, not only is it  COOL to be educated, literate and intellectual, it's also cool to be creative and innovative in ways that intersect with science, math and engineering. Allow me to provide a primer on some of these related subcultures.

Geek Culture
Last year I met an intriguing young woman named Chrissi, who was steeped in a number of counter-cultures, and subcultures. Through her, I learned more about the hipster culture; was introduced to a number of geek cultures, including the makers movement, hacker spaces, cosplay and anime; and that Burning Man is more than just naked people high on X, dancing in the desert (it IS that too).

Chrissi was just as excited to meet with friends at the Science Museum as she was finding an after hours rave. She would quote from Carl Sagan, talk about quantum physics, was an avid participant of Anime conventions, and at the time I met her, was troubleshooting a series of interconnected LED relay switches for an installation/dome/tent for an upcoming Burning Man event.

Hipster Culture
This young woman piqued my interest in the hipster culture. I went to Williamsburg NY to see the home and breeding ground of hipsterdom. Williamsburg is hopping with creativity and enterprise. It is a refined version of the most creative days of the Greenich Village. This is because hipsters are more entrepreneurial than the Greenich village bohemians. My favorite description of hipsters comes from the Urban Dictionary:

"Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively. Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind, it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. Despite misconceptions based on their aesthetic tastes, hipsters tend to be well educated and often have liberal arts degrees, or degrees in maths and sciences, which also require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. Consequently many hipsters tend to have jobs in the music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parent's trust funds.

Hipsters shun mainstream societal conventions that apply to dating preferences and traditional "rules" of physical attraction. It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainsream advertising and media, which tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty. The concepts of androgyny and feminism have influenced hipster culture, where hipster men are often as thin as the women they date. The muscular and athletic all-American male ideal is not seen as attractive by confident and culturally-empowered hipster women who instead view them as symbols of male oppression, sexism, and misogyny. Likewise, culturally-vapid sorority-type girls with fake blond hair, overly tanned skin, and "Britney Spears tube-tops" are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. Hipsters are also very racially open-minded, and the greatest number of interracial couples in any urban environment are typically found within the hipster subculture.

Although hipsters are technically conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass, they are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. For example, the surge of jeans made to look old and worn (i.e. "distressed"), that have become prevalent at stores such as The Gap, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Hollister, were originally paraded by hipsters who shopped in thrift stores years before such clothing items were mass produced and sold to the mainstream consumer.

Maker Culture
Chrissi also had friends who were grand "tinkerers." This is how I learned of the existence of the NY Maker Faire, a festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. Here is a description of the Maker Culture from Wikipedia:

The maker culture is a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technology-based extension of DIY culture. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such as electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, and the use of CNC tools, as well as more traditional activities such as metalworking, woodworking, and traditional arts and crafts. The subculture stresses new and unique applications of technologies, and encourages invention and prototyping. There is a strong focus on using and learning practical skills and applying them creatively.

The Artisan's Asylum and Hackerspaces
The Maker Movement has spawned many communal work spaces. One of the largest such spaces is the Artisan's Asylum in Somerville MA. I have helped to organize a tour of the Artisan Asylum for a group of Math, Science, Computer and Art teachers from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High this summer. There is also a studio in Providence RI called AS220. More from Wikipedia:

The rise of the maker culture is closely associated with the rise of hackerspaces, of which there are now over 100 in the United States, and many around the world. Hackerspaces allow like-minded individuals to share ideas, tools, and skillsets. Some notable hackerspaces which have been linked with the maker culture include Noisebridge, NYC Resistor, A2 Mech Shop, Pumping Station: One, Artisan's Asylum, and TechShop. In addition, those who identify with the subculture can be found at more traditional universities with a technical orientation, such as MIT (specifically around "shop" areas like the MIT Hobby Shop). As maker culture becomes more popular, hackerspaces are becoming more common in universities.

NOTE: One section of the Artisan Asylum is occupied by a "nerd biker gang" called SCUL. Part performance art, part kinetic sculpture, funky, and fringe-y, they are quite an interesting bunch. One of the members of the Science department at L-S is an official longstanding member (Not pictured below). You can read about SCUL here, and this is their homepage.

Burning Man
Lastly, Chrissi was a member of a "crew"called Acavallo. Acavallo is a team of volunteers who helped to put together a full size pirate ship/carousel/band stand/dance stand with moving horses and gas fired flames. Their project involved design, martketing, recruiting, CAD, engineering, and metal fabrication. Although Acavallo presented their ship at a number of events, the grand event was Burning Man. I had always thought Burning Man was just a Grateful Dead Concert with naked people high on X. Though I've never attended, I've learned that the annual Burning Man event hosts some of the most impressive installations, interactive sculptures and kinetic sculptures I have ever seen (photos of).  Highlights of the Acavallo team warrants it's own post - COMING SOON. I will end this post with photographs from various Burning Man events. Keep in mind that one of the main premises of Burning Man is that once it is over, is to leave the Nevada desert without a trace of the event.





























test

---

<sup>1. Hey! this is so cool HTML footnotes! - Geeks are really into specific things, whereas nerds are socially awkward. Of course the two often overlap.↩
2. "Competence Porn" is a term that was coined by screenwriter John Rogers who used the term on his Blog, Kung Fu Monkey↩</sup>

Shapeways

Something that got me really excited last year was when I had discovered Shapeways. Shapeways is an online service that allows users to upload their 3d designs to their website. Shapeways will then 3d print your model in your choice of a variety of materials (including stainless steel, sterling silver, gold and a variety of plastics) and ship the model to your door. Since then I've been pondering the possibilities and brainstorming ideas for something to send. Years ago, some of the members of the Tech Ed department at LSRHS were looking into ZCorporation's Zprinters. At the time we abandoned the idea because the investment was too great. Shapeways has 3d printers using a similar idea as the Zprinters.


There is a sealed chamber. A thin layer of powered material is laid down in the chamber. A "head" moves over the thin layer like an inkjet printer-head and uses a laser to fuse parts of the powder. Another layer of powder is laid down. The "head" moves up an amount equal to the thickness of the power and again moves over the layer and fuses parts of the powder. This is done, layer after layer, until the entire chamber is filled with powder.

This system allows for the model to stand at any angle without solid supports. It also allows for the printing of entire mechanisms of pre-assembled parts - like multiple moving gears.

Once the chamber is completely filled with powder, the 3D object is removed from the powdered chamber and cleaned off with compressed air. See the video above. In the video, you will see complete assembled miniature models of Theo Jansen's¹ Strandbeests with full moving articulated parts. Imagine how pleased I was to find out that this exciting new company started printing models of one of my most favorite kinetic artists. These printed models can be purchased at the Shapeways website. Scroll down to see pics of Theo Jansens miniature models - let me repeat, these models come out of the printer completely assembled with articulated moving parts. Impressive.


Shapeways has a page dedicated to Theo Jansen's models at http://www.shapeways.com/shops/theojansen

I have a post about Theo Jansen HERE.

Below is a movie of Shapeways printed model of the Animaris Geneticus Ondularis



Below is another fully articulated model of a "gyrosphere."

 

---

^{1. I have a post about Theo Jansen HERE.
From Wikipedia: Theo Jansen (born 1948) is a Dutch artist. In 1990, he began what he is known for today: building large mechanisms out of PVC that are able to move on their own, known as Strandbeest. His animated works are a fusion of art and engineering; in a car company (BMW) television commercial Jansen says: "The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds." He strives to equip his creations with their own artificial intelligence so they can avoid obstacles by changing course when one is detected, such as the sea itself.↩}

3d Printers, CAD, and custom Jewelry

By Monalisa Jewelers - This is not made with a 3d printer.

The other night I had dinner with a friend of mine, Arman, who is an extremely skilled and talented jeweler. He is the owner of Mona Lisa Jewelers Custom Handmade Jewelry in downtown Boston. Arman began working as an artisan in Turkey when he was 12 years old.

I told him about the two day teachers workshop I've helped to organize. Arman told me that 3D printing and CAD (Computer Aided Design) is all the rage these days in the custom jewelry business. (by the way the photo above is NOT made by a 3d printer).

One of the more common ways to design metal pieces is to carve a model out of wax. This is then used to create a mold which is then used to cast the piece out of metal. Nowadays, many jewelers and designers are designing models on the computer using CAD software. The 3D model is then output on a 3D printer. One of the limitations of most lower cost 3D printers are that they only print plastic. This is not a problem for jewelers because the plastic model is used to create the mold for casting.

Who remembers the first Apple Quicktake Digital Camera (originally released in 1994)? Similar to digital photography, another limitation with low cost 3D printers is resolution. Again, like digital photography this is quickly becoming less and less an issue as the quality of 3D printers improve.

Currently, desktop 3D printers are around 300 dpi. This is good enough for Rapid Prototyping, but NOT for jewelry. Part of some of the work Arman is commissioned to do these days is cleaning up metal pieces that have been cast from 3D printed models. Often, these metal pieces have a "stipled" surface that Arman has to clean up and polish.

Lately, Shapeways.com has been getting a great deal of attention. Shapeways is an online service where users upload 3D designs to the Shapeways website and the user receives a 3D print of their model in the mail. Unlike your typical desktop 3D printers, Shapeways will print models in various materials including stainless steel, sterling silver, gold, ceramic and various kinds of plastic. I plan to write a post specifically about Shapeways.

Although Arman is not interested in moving into this digital realm, he does not seem to be threatened by this development. Arman tells me that because it is often the case that non-jewelers and amateurs are creating these models, poor judgement and lack of experience are creating new kinds of problem solving work for Arman to deal with. If a skilled and experienced jeweler were to be consulted earlier, many problems could be avoided. It is clear, that Arman's experience and skills will never be eclipsed by this digital development.

Why THIS is Important: Part 1

There are 2 reasons why "this" is so important, why it's important NOW and why there is a favorable opportunity.
        1) Fashion
        2) Excelling in this new economy

I'll write about 'Fashion' in another post. In this post I'll explain what the "this" is, and how it applies to excelling in this new economy.

Surely we can all agree that in today's world, students must learn to be computer literate. Not just for the sake of learning how to use a computer, but because they need to learn how to evaluate their sources on the internet when doing research, learn how to use word processors for writing papers, learn how to use spreadsheets and databases for science, learn how to graph and calculate complex problems in math, learn how to manage their data for all their academic classes, learn about privacy and networks, learn how to manipulate digital images and video for their papers and slideshows, learn how to communicate with other students and teachers on the web, etc. Computers have become an integral part of every subject.

What is less apparent, but is obvious when one thinks about it, is that DESIGN, NARRATIVE, SYNTHESIS, EMPATHY, PLAY/WONDERMENT and MEANING are also integral parts of every academic subject. I'm sure that some of these ARE integrated into some of our curriculum, but if some of it is not, then it needs to be - and it should be at an institutional level. These are the right-brain dominated "senses" that Daniel H. Pink writes about in his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. These 6 senses are the "this" that I refer to in the title of this post. And when I say important, I mean that  it's important that the creative arts and skills be more integral to our education sytem.

Dan Pink's book was suggested to teachers by the former Superintendent/Principal of Lincoln-Sudbury, John Ritchie at a beginning-of-the-year staff/faculty meeting many years ago. It was not until this summer that I've picked it up. To my pleasure, Dan Pink articulates concepts that resonates with me and has validated my similar ideas that I have been thinking about for years. His premise is that to excel in this current economy, being versed in the things that were the staple of the 'information age' (left-brain thinking) is no longer sufficient. We are now well into what Dan Pink calls the "Conceptual Age," where the addition and dominance of right-brain thinking is key. The staple of work from the information age, like accounting and IT, is now either being replaced by computer software, or being shipped overseas. My step son took a career workshop at UMASS Amherst during his senior year. He was taught that many corporations are now recruiting from the Humanities departments of Universities. The companies are now looking to either train in-house or are looking for people to "synthesize," conceptualize, manage the big picture, and/or innovate.

Institutionally, much of our schools view Art and Music as an afterthought, an extra curricular activity, a little "bonus" to give a chance for students to relax, and in worse cases a luxury that gets cut out of the curriculum altogether. So much is dictated by budget cuts and standardized exams that curriculum becomes compartmentalized and internally competitive. The side effect of "fighting for survival" is a weakening of progressive thinking and interdepartmental, inter-disciplinary development. As schools are struggling to provide services, the energy and inertia for inspiration, wonderment and passion gets dissipated. Yes, for some, these "traditional" electives can be more relaxing and enjoyable, but these "electives" would be significantly more effective if they were institutionally and culturally valued as something integral and vital, with transferable skills to all academics.

The MFA is the new MBA
Daniel Pink says "The MFA is the new MBA." When you Google this phrase, you will see that many of the largest business publications are taking Dan Pink seriously - Forbes, New York Times, Fast Company, Washington Post, and the Harvard Business Review.

I just discovered from the Wall Street Journal that NYU has a combination MBA/MFA program. http://mba-mfa.nyu.edu/

A Favorable Opportunity

We all know that the job market is not too good, but did you know that this not the case with math, science and IT? Even though there is a great drove of IT work being outsourced to India, the current job market is still pretty good for skilled programmers. As my good friend and our old colleague Dan Damelin tells me, there is a dearth of "talented" programmers. Dan Damelin works at the Concord Consortium where he is in the position of often looking to hire programmers (in 2011 the Concord Consortium received a 2.5 million dollar grant from Google for creating digital curricula). Dan says it is a programmers market. Companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook are driving up the ante with more lucrative offers and bonuses to talented computer programmers.

http://www.wgbh.org/articles/Too-Many-Workers-in-Math-and-Science-6771

On WGBH's Innovation Hub there has been an ongoing debate about this issue. On one side, companies are saying there is a lack of math and science workers, and on the other side math and science graduates and job seekers are saying they can't find a job. What explains this gap? I have a theory. The gap is between the "skilled" high tech worker, and the "talented" high tech worker. The "talented" worker is the one who, as well as having the skills, also has the right-brain abilities - the 6 "senses" outlined by Dan Pink that I described a few paragraphs above.

This is the gap we as educators need to fill. This is why there is both the need and the opportunity to do so. STEM misses the boat and just isn't adequate. As an institution, we need to formally integrate these right-brain oriented thinking skills into our curriculum to provide students with a more complete and cohesive education. I realize it cannot be done all at once, but in can be done in increments. This is part of my inspiration for bringing together Math, Science, Computer and Art teachers to explore some of these ideas and witness some of these trends.

READ PART 2

"The Walls Between Art and Engineering Exist Only Within Our Minds" - Theo Jansen and his Strandbeasts

Theo Jansen Creates some strikingly beautiful kinetic sculptures. The designs are highly technical. Many of his designs move by air power and some store air power.

You can now purchase miniature working models of his designs at shapeways.com. One of the remarkable things about the Shapeways models is that the models are 3D printed, completely assembled and ready to move.

See Theo Jansen's miniature 3d models on my Shapeways post here.