Ron Eglash is an ethno-mathematician: he studies the way math and cultures intersect. He has shown that many aspects of African design -- in architecture, art, even hair braiding -- are based on perfect fractal patterns.
Why you should listen to him:
"Ethno-mathematician" Ron Eglash is the author of African Fractals, a book that examines the fractal patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa. By looking at aerial-view photos -- and then following up with detailed research on the ground -- Eglash discovered that many African villages are purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with self-similar shapes repeated in the rooms of the house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village, in mathematically predictable patterns.
As he puts it: "When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganized and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn't even discovered yet."
His other areas of study are equally fascinating, including research into African and Native American cybernetics, teaching kids math through culturally specific design tools (such as the Virtual Breakdancer applet, which explores rotation and sine functions), and race and ethnicity issues in science and technology. Eglash teaches in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and he recently co-edited the book Appropriating Technology, about how we reinvent consumer tech for our own uses.
"Next time you bump into one of those idiots who starts asking you questions like, 'where is the African Mozart, or where is the African Brunel?' -- implying that Africans do not think -- send them a copy of Ron Eglash’s study of fractals in African architecture and watch their heads explode."mentalacrobatics.com
Blog Posts on TED
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African fractals: Ron Eglash on TED.com – November 29, 2007
"I am a mathematician, and I would like to stand on your roof." This is how Ron Eglash greeted many African families while researching the intriguing fractal patterns he noticed in villages across the continent. He talks about his work exploring the rigorous fractal math underpinning African architecture, art and even hair braiding -- and his cool math tools for students. (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 16:51.)
Watch Ron Eglash's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
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Day Two in Quotes [TEDGlobal 2007] – June 6, 2007
“Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth” — Acumen Fund CEO/Founder Jacqueline Novogratz "What we call governments are vampire states, which suck the economic vitality out of the people." — Economist George Ayittey "I want to make Africans rich. If you make Africans rich, they'll be less poor. That's my development strategy." — Private equity pioneer Idris Mohammed "What we're trying to do is create a family tree for everyone alive today." — Anthropologist and geneticist Spencer Wells, who's leading the Genographic Project, a landmark study tracing human origins to their roots in Africa "There is no region of the world and no period in history that farmers have had to bear the burden of risk that African farmers bear today. But I'm not here to lament or wring my hands. I'm here to tell you that change is in the air." — Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin, who is founding the first commodities market for farmers in Ethiopia "World progress needs a good dose of spontaneous human intelligence to realize that the answers to many of the questions we ask ourselves are just around the corner." — Architect Issa Diabete, who draws inspiration from innovative, makeshift urban solutions found in Africa's sprawling squatter cities "I'm hopeful because nature is amazing resilient. Seemingly dead tree stumps -- if you stop hacking them for firewood, in 10 years you can have a 30 ft tree.” — Primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall “I am a mathematician and I would like to stand on your roof.” — Mathematician Ron Eglash's standard greeting to African families, when he was researching the intriguing fractal patterns observed in many villages across the continent Technorati tags: tedglobal2007 More -
Day Two on the blogs – June 6, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, from around the blogs: Erik Hertsman at White African reports: Google has hired its first sub-Saharan Africa employee!
Joseph Mucheru has been named the new site lead for Google Kenya. This was whispered to be happening, but at today’s Google lunch at TEDGlobal the position was made official by Francoise Brougher, Director of Google Business Opportunities.
Mentalacrobatics posted a fascinating blow-by-blow of his Day Two, ending with this wonderful image:Back at the hotel is when TED came home. I sat down to write my thoughts on the day when Harinjaka shared with us the crazy deforestation that is taking place in his country of Madagascar. That was the beginning of all night thinking, sharing, debating session. Two Kenyans, one Madagascan, one Nigerian, one Italian, one American. We had never met before TED, all but one of us are at our first TED conference and we had our own TED session then and there. We talked about HIV/AIDS, about social disempowerment, about colonial legacy, about Nollywood, Bollywood and the Chinese film industry, about music, about deforestation in Madagascar ...
Afromusing was captivated by Ron Eglash's work on African fractals, including a web tool that integrates fractal design and hair braiding:!! Indeed !!
David McQueen blogged his highlights from the second day:
Design cornrows using transformational geometry. Click here.
Ron Eglash spoke on looking at fractals in African architecture and design. For non comp sci people, fractals make for some of the most beautiful designs. For African geeks, egm and mathematicians, get the book.Idris Mohammed - The suggestion of a “Fund of Funds” from G8 as a means of smarter aid. Encourage Africans or Europeans who can invest in Private Equite Fundraising. Remove the focus from “Poverty Reduction” and place more emphasis on “Wealth Creation”.
Don at fifthculture shared a ride with investor and TED Day 2 speaker Idris Mohammed:Idris Mohammed, a private equity pioneer, said that energy is the next big job in Africa. ... I had the opportunity to ride to the hotel from the airport with Idris. I asked him what form of power (fossil fuels, wind, hydro), he said that most likely it would be fossil fuels. It seems we can't avoid creating problems even when we are solving them. Both options are grave.
Mweshi's roundup captured the buzz around entrepreneur Ted Kidane:... a wonderful talk by Ted Kidane of Feedelix which is a mobile phone piece of software that enable text messaging in non-Latin scripts. But the thing that stood out the most about Ted’s talk was his challenge to everyone in the room to change the manner in which they look at the word POVERTY; which in his words defined as Prosperity, Opportunity, Validation, Enthusiasm, Resilience, Trust and Yes!
Big, brave ideas are flying around. Ellen Horne reports on a lunchtime conversation:Today, I sat down at lunch with three African men. One was a grad student from Cape Town, S.A., and the other two were ex-pats from Ghana - living abroad but very much engaged in a conversation about the reasons that Africans leave. The conversation turned to the topic of corruption. How to address the massive short-term incentives for supporting the 'big man' power system fueled by corruption. One quickly brainstormed talked about a public humiliation website where people could anonymously post photos of bribes being given. I asked innocently 'Why would someone exchange bribery cash in public?" He agreed -- sure you aren't going to get many -- but maybe the few would set a powerful example -- and hopefully not a unique one.
And as always, for minute-to-minute coverage of the conference sessions, turn to Ethan Zuckerman at My Heart's in Accra. More -
Web-based ways to make a difference – January 1, 2008
To help those of us making resolutions this week, here is a sampling of web tools for making a difference, inspired by TEDTalks speakers: + Share Ron Eglash's cool math tools, for studying math via breakdancing, Latin beats and cornrow braids + Dive into Richard Baraniuk's Connexions, a massive repository of open-source class materials + Visit Phil Borges' Bridges to Understanding site, which rounds up student films from all over the world + Browse Erin McKean's booklist "So You Want to Be a Lexicographer?" + Check out the beta of Gapminder World, powered by Hans Rosling's Trendalyzer software + Watch video and take action at The Hub, a platform for human rights media and action -- presented by Peter Gabriel's WITNESS + Discuss sustainable design and materials on the Cradle to Cradle forums, inspired by the work of William McDonough + Learn more about Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child + Catch up with Majora Carter's Sustainable South Bronx -- or make a specific gift to SSBx via Changing the Present + Calculate your personal CO2 production -- and start helping the planet -- at the website for Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, produced by Jeff Skoll TEDTalks is full of ideas for making change for oneself and for others -- many more than we can list here. Please share your suggestions for other TEDTalks-inspired change! More
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[TEDGlobal 2007] Session 4: Emergent Design – June 6, 2007
To understand Africa's technological future, TEDGlobal Program Director Emeka Okafor calls Russell Southwood to the stage. Publisher of Balancing Act and respected tech commentator, Southwood envisions a future in which Africa leapfrogs the entire industrial phase of development, and skips straight to a high-tech competitiveness. To achieve this, he identifies several "door-openers" to fundamental change, including ever-cheaper cell phones and plentiful, cheap bandwidth. Once those two commodities come in financial reach of more Africans, the continent could reach a technological tipping point, with much broader implications. "This revolution isn't just about tehnology, it's also a social and cultural revolution." And now we step sideways to exercise other parts of the brain: Stanford-based bioengineer Kwabena Boahen gave a brain-twisting overview of his research, which aims to first understand how brains work, and then build a computer that works more like the brain. His beautiful simulation of neurons at work, and cogent explanation of the brain's networked approach to data transmission had all synapses firing. From neural networks to urban grids... Architect Issa Diabaté took us next on a tour of African cityscapes that inspire his work. Clean lines and well-executed plans hold less interest for him than the messy, makeshift solutions so common in growing cities. "World progress needs a good dose of spontaneous human intelligence to realize that the answer to many of the questions we ask ourselves are just around the corner" And from urban grids to fractal-shaped villages... "Ethno-mathematician" Ron Eglash set my mind on fire with his talk, explaining the research that led to his book, African Fractals. By looking at aerial-view photos — and then following up with detailed research on the ground — Eglash discovered that many African villages are purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with self-similar shapes repeated in the rooms of the house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village. The shapes and algorithms vary from village to village (and not all villages are laid out this way), but always correspond perfectly to mathematically predictable patterns — the same sort of patterns we see in nature (in Acacia trees and fern leaves and snowflakes). Isn't that fascinating? And bizarre? And: What does it mean? I don't know, actually. But I can feel some theories coming on ... For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman's real-time posts on Kwabena Boahen, Issa Diabaté, Ron Eglash and Russell Southwood. Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.
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