Success in maths starts in the art class.

Yesterday my elder daughter was having some difficulty with her algebra homework. I’m sympathetic, but it’s all Greek to me, despite my father’s best endeavours with quadratic equations when I was a teenager.

Maths was always a struggle, but while I put off doing my homework until the last minute, I do remember being repeatedly drawn to a TimeLife book on my parents’ bookshelves focusing on the beauty of numbers. Its pictures of shells in cross-section, graphs, diagrams and geometric fantasies of real beauty and fascination held me entranced. Usual lament – why couldn’t they have taught maths like that in my school?

Perhaps the question should be instead, why didn’t they teach art like that in my school?

The way to my numerical heart could be via Fractal art – a growing genre, enhanced by digital technology. Here’s what Wikipedia says to define it:

“Fractal art is created by calculating fractal mathematical functions and transforming the calculation results into still images, animations, music, or other art media. Fractal images are graphs of the calculation results, and fractal animations are sequences of these graphs. Fractal music maps the calculation results to music pitches or other sounds. Fractal art is usually created with the assistance of a computer, in order to speed up the process of calculating the fractal function.”

Take a look: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fractal

They say most adults are still trying to prove something to their parents; I’m looking forward to showing my father my first piece of art using a (correct, and particularly fiendish) quadratic equation. He told me I’d get it in the end – it’s only taken 30 years. Watch this space.

For the record, I do Sudoko quite well. (My dad doesn’t.)