The engaged couple must bring the weaver food and kola nuts to keep him awake until it is finished. Eglash sees similar recurring patterns on different scales in ivory sculptures, palace and village layouts, and braided hair designs. His argument for the ubiquity of fractals in African design and thought is provocative though not, I think, entirely convincing. Nonetheless, his book calls attention to intriguing facets of African culture. Both African Fractals and Geometry from Africa vividly display the amazing variety of inventive designs and patterns that can emerge from simple geometric ideas and everyday activities.
Geometric exploration goes hand in hand with artistic design.
Gerdes, P. 1999. Comments are welcome. He is the author of The Mathematical Tourist, Islands of Truth, Newton's Clock, Fatal Defect, and The Jungles of Randomness. For children ages 10 and up.