A Plethora of Polyhedra

[conteudos.d...@gmail.com]

Hello!

Our local group has developed a free JAVA applet that helps users to
study spatial geometry in a dynamic and interactive way. Using it, the
user can rotate, zoom out, zoom in and translate a plethora of
polyhedra. Moreover, the program is able to compute topological and
geometrical duals of each polyhedron. Geometrical operations include
unfolding, plane sections, truncation and stellation.

http://www.uff.br/cdme/pdp/pdp-html/pdp-en.html

Suggestions are welcome!

Thanks in advance, Humberto.

[Kirby Urner]

This looks really excellent, was just test driving and
having fun.

Thanks to this being a Java applet, I was able to run it
on my Mozilla Firefox browser running on Ubuntu 8.04 -
the Hardy Heron - released in April 2008.

A handsome alternative, not an applet, but free if
not-pro, is from the good folks at Peda ( http://peda.com )
where I've purchased posters as well. This won't
run on my favorite open source platform however.

Our self schoolers in coffee shops often take an active
interest in geometry, which is an aesthetically attractive
subject, just right for bright public LCDs ("ambient
video for airports" -- or coffee shops in airports).

Indeed, once a geometry class has taken the big leap
and moved to real computers instead of just calculators,
the old "flat land" stuff starts to lose its appeal, and
it's not like Euclid ignored polyhedra (on the contrary).

Of course you might *still* want to explore non-Euclidean
treatments in terms of what definitions to bring to bear,
but that doesn't necessarily mean changes in software.
Our discrete math standards allow for "not solid" ideas
about these shapes. Emphasizing wire frames and
translucency over "geometric solids" (the old way of
thinking) is consistent with these new discrete math
standards.

http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=6632259&tstart=0

I'll pass a link to your site back to our CTO, for cluing
our "FOSS covens" (each shop tends to be surrounded by a
bevy of geeks, per our open source business model). Your
application may not be open source (I went looking
for the code) but in terms of keeping the relevant
geometry in the public eye, that's important to our
curriculum and democratic goals.

You're doing a great job. Thx!

Kirby Urner
CSN CMO
http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/

[humberto....@gmail.com]

Hi Kirby!

Thank you by your feedback.

We've done another activity related with spatial geometry. It's a
game:

http://www.uff.br/cdme/triplets/triplets-html/triplets-en.html

Comments are welcome!

Best regards, Humberto.

[Kirby Urner]

> Hi Kirby!
>
> Thank you by your feedback.
>
> We've done another activity related with spatial
> geometry. It's a
> game:
>
> http://www.uff.br/cdme/triplets/triplets-html/triplets
> -en.html
>
> Comments are welcome!
>
> Best regards, Humberto.

On the first level, I was thinking The Alps is a
mountain range, so is there a singular corresponding
to this apparent plural? I don't want to spoil it
by giving the answer. Actually, that's no hint at
all, as they appear to reload at random.

Since my last rave review, I've upgraded from
Hardy Heron to Intrepid Ibex, a way station on my
way to Jaunty Jackalope. Of course Java applets
run great in all these versions of Ubuntu.

The tie-in to Godel Escher Bach is fantastic. I'll be
sure to use that. Thank you for something delicious.

Kirby