Review of an often-cited Leonardo article that is
now available for purchase online…
The Tiling Patterns of Sebastien Truchet Authors: Cyril Stanley Smith and Pauline Boucher
Source: Leonardo , Vol. 20, No. 4, Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1578535 . |
Smith and Boucher give a well-illustrated account of
the early history of Truchet tiles, but their further remarks
on the mathematics underlying patterns made with
these tiles (see the diamond theorem* of 1976) are
worthless.
For instance…
Excerpt from pages 383-384—
"A detailed analysis of Truchet's
patterns touches upon the most fundamental
questions of the relation between
mathematical formalism and the structure
of the material world. Separations
between regions differing in density
require that nothing be as important as
something and that large and small cells of
both must coexist. The aggregation of
unitary choice of directional distinction
at interfaces lies at the root of all being
and becoming."
* This result is about Truchet-tile patterns, but the
underlying mathematics was first discovered by
investigating superimposed patterns of half-circles .
See Half-Circle Patterns at finitegeometry.org.