Mathematical Origami product reviews

i really found this book to be a lot of cool fun. i have always enjoyed using paper and card to make interesting 3d shapes and models and stuff so i am really glad i now have my own copy of this book. after seeing it in the bookshop about 6 months ago and then finding out there was a copy available through this site i just had to have it. i would put this as one of the coolest books i have in this area. awesome, thanks mahobe and thanks very much kiwireviews.

Starting off with the bare basics is always a good idea, and this book is FULL of good ideas. First off you get greeted with a description of what this is all about - modular units connected together, as opposed to a shape folded from a single sheet of paper only.

You then read on to be told all about how to read the diagrams clearly, what the symbols mean, and some good hints and tips about the 'art' of it all. After all, no point in enjoying just the practicalities of it, there is also an appreciation of the skill and the craft of doing it so that it looks beyond 'good' and comes into 'great'.

The simpler shapes are at the front of the book, so working your way through the book in a logical order is a good idea, but if you are adventurous, or have had some prior experience making paper models, you can jump through the book and pick the dinky-looking, or the more challenging.

Now, I pride myself on my creative abilities (sometimes with more confidence than the evidence would suggest, but hey...) and I also pride myself on my artifically enhanced lateral thinking ability (thanks Dad) but even I was stumped by the 'transformation' puzzle posed at the end of the book, much to my utter disgust *G*.

With only moments of practice folding (like, 2-3 minutes to warm up the old neurons) I was back in action folding a Skeletal Octahedron, and he saw it and it was good. All too basic really, but hey, I was using torn-up jotter pad, so it was fun.

I liked the extra bits added in too, like how various completed solids can be stacked in 'space-packing' combinations and/or forming larger versions of the same or other solids. OK, so you have to be intrigued by such things to really enjoy it, but for the mathematically or engineering inclined, this book is great shelf-stocking material.

Practical applications? Yup! Product packaging design takes on a whole new dimension when you think beyond the single item unit. Questions such as "How much airspace will I waste if I try and put 10,000 of these in a shipping crate?" or "Can I put 24 of these in a courier box, or can I only fit 16?" become realistic and vital questions to ask. Think about cubes in a box, or a honeycomb and you have an idea.

Overall, I think this is a great book for the casual math-maniac, an excellent reference manual for those who design, or want to design, packaging or geometric models, and a hugely entertaining publication full-stop!

And if anyone can solve the puzzle at the end of the book, will they PLEASE email us a diagram of the final shape, it's driving us NUTS! *G*