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Do you see the tricks these objects are playing? Renowned mathematician Kokichi Sugihara of Meiji University in Tokyo creates ambiguous sculptures—solid objects which seem to defy common-sense notions of direction and shape. Viewed in mirrors, his illusions show a change in appearance when seen in different directions. What’s happening? Sugihara uses projective geometry to create anomalous mirror symmetry. The upper surface of these objects appears flat, but they are actually curved along the sight lines. Kokichi Sugihara’s anomalous mirror symmetry takes advantage of our expectation that lines appearing to be straight must be physically straight. He projects two different shapes, such as a circle and a square, from two different directions (front and back) and studies where the lines intersect. He then constructs solid models that follow those intersections. This results in solid forms with curved surfaces that appear to breach symmetry when seen from two different points of view. See “Mathematics: Vintage and Modern” on display, post-security, in Terminal 2 and online at: https://bit.ly/MathAtSFO
This image was posted on December 29, 2021.
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