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   Orthonormal Oregon

   

   dorpus, Sep 17th, 2003 @ 1:19am

   
   

   As this Japanese web site acknowledges, origami seems to have been independently invented by Europeans -- there is a Venetian illustration from the late 15th century of a boat made out of folded paper. Also in John Webster's "Duchess of Malfi" from 1614, there is the appearance of a "paper prison" apparently corresponding to the "balloon" of Japanese origami (invented in the 19th century).

   In animals, brains are like a sheet of neurons folded up into a wrinkly shape to minimize volume while preserving most of the surface area.

   Origami is a dying art form in Japan, one of those traditional arts like karate that Westerners care about more than the Japanese themselves. Just like Chinese diabolos, which are popular among Western jugglers but mostly unknown in China today. And by the way, "Chinese Checkers" do not come from China at all -- the game really comes from Germany, where it was originally known as Stern-Halma, but was converted to "Chinese Checkers" by a savvy American marketer. Ditto for chili peppers in Asian cuisine, chili peppers are not Asian at all.

   But for the mathematical masochists among us, is there a way to combine string figures with origami, along with maybe rings, beads, and klein bottles?

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2.  

   Re: Orthonormal Oregon

   

   Anonymous Coward, Sep 17th, 2003 @ 9:04am

   
   

   OT:
   
   > one of those traditional arts like karate that
   > Westerners care about more than the Japanese
   > themselves.
   
   Another one is Bunraku, which is a traditional Japanese, lifesize puppet. I read in "Dogs and Demons" that cultural centers had to ask Westerners to come reintroduce the art to native Japanese since it had nearly died out domestically.
   
   This is a good, controversial book written by an American living in Japan for decades, who is a a true Japanophile, but thinks they are losing a lot of their native culture.

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3.  

   Re: Orthonormal Oregon

   

   dorpus, Sep 17th, 2003 @ 12:05pm

   
   

   Yup, we're in a world where Western anthropologists often know more aboriginal cultures than the natives themselves. Western eco-types usually care more about the environment than aboriginals, who burn or hunt things as they see fit. Trash disposal is an artifact of modern civilization.
   
   Of course, the same thing is happening to Western civilization as well -- folk dancing is more popular among city slickers than country people, city slickers eat more "natural" or "authentic" cooking than country people, etc. Entire tourist industries are constructed around the idea of providing cultural authenticity to city slickers who have been brainwashed through their education to believe that they lead fake, hollow lives.
   
   
   

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