Manifold Mirrors

Felipe Cucker is Chair Professor of Mathematics at the City University of Hong Kong. His research covers a variety of subjects including semi-algebraic geometry, computer algebra, complexity, emergence in decentralized systems (in particular, emergence of languages and flocking), learning theory, and foundational aspects of numerical analysis. He serves on the editorial board of several journals and is Managing Editor of the journal Foundations of Computational Mathematics, published by the society of the same name.

• Mathematics: user's manual; Appetizers; 1. Space and geometry; 2. Motions on the plane; 3. The many symmetries of planar objects; 4. The many objects with planar symmetries; 5. Reflections on the mirror; 6. A raw material; 7. Stretching the plane; 8. Aural wallpaper; 9. The dawn of perspective; 10. A repertoire of drawing systems; 11. The vicissitudes of perspective; 12. The vicissitudes of geometry; 13. Symmetries in non-Euclidean geometries; 14. The shape of the universe; Appendix: rule-driven creation; References; Acknowledgements; Index of symbols; Index of names; Index of concepts.

'Cucker [has] produced a pot au feu, an eclectic catch-all. There is much that can be learned from [his] presentation of the marriage of mathematics and art. I consider Manifold Mirrors Arcimboldesque in that it is an assemblage of many basic mathematical ideas and constructs, [adding] up to … well, to a unique work.' Philip J. Davis, SIAM News