foldworks

Author, illustrator, designer and programmer: #origami, #MathArt, #tiling, #design, education and more

website: https://www.foldworks.net/
Geogebra files to view and edit: https://www.geogebra.org/u/tung+ken+lam
ORIGAMI From Surface to Form : full book to preview at the publisher's website: https://woodenbooks.com/en/series/product/219-origami

Public Key

npub1gqg4mu3v9e8ffdf5uufey5pss4halzsx7ww4l7hy42s0gr56ev4sywzwzr

NIP-05 Address

foldworks_at_mathstodon.xyz@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsyqy2a7gkzun55k56wwyuj2qcg2m7l3gr0882lltj24g85p6dvk2cpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds6wyqg9

Publishing to

relay.snort.social

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1gqg4mu3v9e8ffdf5uufey5pss4halzsx7ww4l7hy42s0gr56ev4sywzwzr

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Last Notes

2026-08-19 09:24:19 UTC

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Yeah, that's why I processed the photo.
I should have taken a bit more time to compose the photo, but as often happens, I was not prepared when I saw the tiling

2026-08-19 09:05:56 UTC

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I processed the original photo to correct the perspective distortion, but I might have done that wrong?
Here's the unprocessed view. Can the undistorted view be obtained without assuming that the tiles are equilateral?
Or put another way, do the tiles look equilateral in this photo?
#askfedi #perspective #affinity #photography
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/117/121/339/676/527/532/original/caaf183cf6d186e2.jpg

2026-08-18 09:51:12 UTC

An equilateral triangular tiling in Galway, Ireland (Gaillimh, Éire)
Equilateral triangle tiles are manufactured, but I don’t see them very often
#TilingTuesday #geometry #tiling #MathArt #photography #TravelPhotography #design
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/117/115/878/836/187/188/original/a404ba6d3cdab3c1.jpg

2026-07-08 09:10:00 UTC

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The mosque is not so old, but yes, amazing skills:
‘Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. ...A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's outside ground. ...
"3,300 Moroccan craftsmen of national and international renown contributed... 854 qualified maâlems out of 1,530 in the field of carpentry, 80 qualified maâlems out of a total of 1,600 assigned to plasterwork, and 100 qualified maâlems out of 170 specializing in zellige."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_II_Mosque

2026-07-07 15:15:40 UTC

A complex tiling in a fountain, Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco
#TilingTuesday #geometry #tiling #MathArt #photography #design #TravelPhotography #IslamicPattern #IslamicGeometricDesign #Girih #Morocco
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/116/879/342/950/681/870/original/dd7f01952a55933c.jpg

2026-05-07 16:07:25 UTC

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It's kind of 'obvious in hindsight', but I didn't know it until considering a hypothetical in a murder mystery.
Are twins the worst plot device in some stories, after time travel? (And I *like* some stories featuring twins or time travel 😆)

2026-05-07 10:50:52 UTC

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"Identical twins do not have the same fingerprints however, because even within the confines of the womb, the fetuses touch different parts of their environment, giving rise to small variations in their corresponding prints and thus making them unique." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin#IdenticalTwins

2026-03-19 11:45:41 UTC

A sturdy door outdoors, near Clapham, North Yorkshire, England
What's behind the green(ish) door? 'Hidden Dangers', apparently
#DoorsDay #DoorThursday #Photography #TravelPhotography
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/116/255/640/696/555/184/original/bd53b6f242f18573.jpg

2026-03-04 19:25:55 UTC

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It sounds like cofounder James Watt has cried all the way to the bank 😢
“Watt said it had been an "incredibly hard" week and that he was "heartbroken" for those who had lost their jobs and invested in its Equity For Punks scheme.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cze00ddyw27o
I’ve invested in things I’ve not fully understood, but only invested what I could afford to lose (and did lose).
Experience is a harsh teacher, as they say. (Here the lesson is the difference between ‘ordinary’ and ‘preference’ shares. "Equity For Punks" investors bought ordinary shares, but only preference shareholders would get their money back first in the event of a sale.)
#brewdog #uk #business

2025-11-28 14:44:24 UTC

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TIL this number pattern from John Grant’s A Book of Numbers (1982).
I wonder if there is more (or less) to this than meets the eye, when compare with 11111 × 11111 = 123454321, etc?
#til #mathematics #number #pattern #arithmetic
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/115/627/822/955/502/861/original/d96d180af6df52c2.png

2025-11-24 15:42:55 UTC

Do you know a polyhedron that has 300 faces? Ideally nice and non-trivial.
Or a polyhedron with 300 edges or 300 vertices?
#askfedi #mathematics #geometry #iTeachMath #polyhedron

2025-10-29 12:28:32 UTC

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It looks like the judge and lawyers for the class Action and Anthropic wanted an expedient solution. Some expect the class action lawyers to take 25% of the 1.5bn USD compensation.
I can pursue my own case for my work that was downloaded, but they know that's unrealistic ☹️
From the FAQ https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/faq
"Even though Anthropic downloaded approximately 7 million files from LibGen and PiLiMi, many of those files were duplicates of works, or unregistered works, or were empty, corrupted, or incomplete files.
About 40% of the files Anthropic downloaded (approximately 3 million) were duplicates. Duplicate copies are not eligible to be in the Works List.
Likewise, works not validly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office are not eligible to be in the Works List. Many of the works Anthropic downloaded were not registered. For example, non-English works have very low registration rates. Of the approximately 4 million unique works that Anthropic downloaded, around 2.5 million were written in languages other than English. Most of those 2.5 million non-English works were unregistered. In addition, many of the 1.5 million unique English works were not registered. And even among registered works, many failed to satisfy the date criteria in the Class definition, because registration occurred more than five years after publication or after Anthropic downloaded such works.
Finally, many works failed validation tests. For example, the Works List does not include files that were empty, corrupted, or incomplete."
#copyright #Anthropic

2025-10-28 09:40:49 UTC

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To qualify, the downloaded works need to have been registered with the US Copyright Office before being downloaded.
Unsurprisingly, many authors outside the US did not register their US copyright as registration is not needed in other countries (or their publisher could/should have registered the copyright but didn't). It costs about 50 USD per work.
Copyright exists as soon as the work is created, but US registration is needed for US statutory damages.
US copyright history would make an interesting (but different) post.

2025-10-07 17:40:43 UTC

Some insights and stories from Gary Numan that I've not heard before https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002js3b
“musical legend Gary Numan opens up about being autistic and how he interacts with the world differently. For Gary, music isn’t something he listens to for comfort or relaxation, writing music is a tool to cope with the world. He reflects on the intensity of his creative process and the role obsession plays in shaping both his music and his perspective, revealing how his neurodivergence is a gift, not a disorder. Alongside deeply personal stories, Gary shares a selection of music from the early days when he was obsessed with music to now being obsessed with certain songs”
Three parts:
1. the role of obsession in his music and life
2. on how he expresses his emotions
3. on being misunderstood
#Numan #GaryNuman #Neurodivergent #AutisticSpectrum #Autistim #music #BBC6Music

2025-08-15 13:03:04 UTC

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Yes, the starting rectangle of paper is 1:√3 which has useful properties https://www.origamiheaven.com/usefulrectangles.htm
Folding 60° is relatively straightforward (just by folding, without tools or instruments).

2025-08-15 12:53:30 UTC

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Did you mean rhombuses instead of rectangles? The final model has three diamonds (rhombus that is two equilateral triangles).
XYZ Diamonds belongs to a genre of modular origami called Planar Modulars https://www.britishorigami.org/publications-listing/planar-modulars
#star #origami #MathArt #geometry #ModularOrigami #craft #design #PaperCraft
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/115/032/856/513/587/688/original/9ea7148048eeb970.jpg

2025-08-15 11:06:19 UTC

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A different approach yields XYZ Diamonds. This unit differs from the two models by late Francis Ow (one has instructions at https://owrigami.com/show_diagram.php?diagram=xyz_diamonds, check out the site for other great origami)
The model uses the inherent geometry of 1:√3 rectangles (but could be folded from other rectangles). Much easier to fold and assemble than the other models 😄
#star #origami #MathArt #geometry #octahedron #ModularOrigami #craft #design #PaperCraft #photography #ArtistOnMastodon #ArtistsOnMastodon #artwork #3D #art #artist #arts #arte #designer #MastoArt #FediArt #CreativeToots
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/115/032/424/529/614/239/original/c9f386db4642301d.jpeg

2025-08-14 12:14:33 UTC

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Some different folds makes this 30-unit star, somewhere between UVWXYZ Stars by the late Meenakshi Mukerji and my Blintz Icosidodecahedron. Original instruction for the latter at https://web.archive.org/web/20101220143922/http://mvg-ori.nl/ori-l/models/units/01sub/blinicos.htm
A bit of a struggle to finish, I think the paper was too small and thick (10 cm memo cube paper). I had to use some tools to help tuck the flaps near the end of assembly.
#star #origami #MathArt #geometry #icosidodecahedron #ModularOrigami #craft #design #PaperCraft #photography #ArtistOnMastodon #ArtistsOnMastodon #artwork #3D #art #artist #arts #arte #designer #MastoArt #FediArt #CreativeToots
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/115/027/049/211/211/956/original/6888f257ee74bc5f.jpeg

2025-08-14 08:33:54 UTC

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With a few extra folds, the same unit can make this variation of WXYZ origami
#star #origami #MathArt #geometry #cuboctahedron #ModularOrigami #craft #design #PaperCraft #photography #ArtistOnMastodon #ArtistsOnMastodon #artwork #3D #art #artist #arts #arte #designer #MastoArt #FediArt #CreativeToots
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/115/026/188/597/074/956/original/2372e3b28ecac058.jpeg

2025-07-30 19:02:33 UTC

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I think 'technology' is still a useful word, but needs nuance to distinguish 'Big Tech', say, from humane and social use of technology.
As to our relationship to technology, Douglas Adams wrote:
"I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things." https://archive.org/details/salmonofdoubthit0000adam_s5i4/page/94/mode/2up?q=%22reactions+to+technologies%22 (The salmon of doubt, 2002)
#technology

2025-07-20 08:41:06 UTC

XYZ Rhombic, modular @origami stars made with paper from New Zealand and South Korea
Concise instructions https://woodenbooks.com/index.php#!ORI/24 (bottom of page 41)
For your first attempt, use six 7.5 by 15 cm (3 by 6 inch) rectangles in three colours. Make sure each unit is identical or the assembly won’t work. Experienced folders can use 37.5 by 75 mm (1.5 by 3 inch) rectangles.
#SilentSunday #star #origami #ModularOrigami #craft #design #PaperCraft #MathArt #ArtistOnMastodon #ArtistsOnMastodon #graphic #design #artwork #2D #vector #illustration #illustrator #art #artist #arts #arte #designer #GraphicDesign #MastoArt #FediArt #CreativeToots #photography
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/114/884/670/926/314/187/original/f1c533878ce758df.jpeg

2025-07-05 12:40:02 UTC

Looping animation of squares with sides decreasing by golden ratio.
h/t https://youtube.com/shorts/VloYWtLJ2KM
#animation #loop #CreativeCoding #geometry #Geogebra #tiling #MathArt #pattern #GraphicDesign #design #GoldenRatio
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/114/800/666/480/839/791/original/a28d02522a0c07ae.mp4

2025-07-04 09:14:45 UTC

A rainbow on the West Highland Way, Scotland, April 2023
#FootpathFriday #hiking #LandscapePhotography #Scotland #WestHighlandWay #rainbow
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/114/794/191/077/695/647/original/78083927a99bdf4c.jpg

2025-05-29 16:38:30 UTC

A generalisation of Varignon’s Theorem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varignon's_theorem inspired by https://mathstodon.xyz/@ColinTheMathmo/114563307151366884
#Tiling #Pattern #Geometry #MathArt #MathsArt #loop #animation #geogebra
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/114/592/099/345/859/528/original/ece6a11eef3da8ba.mp4

2024-11-25 18:47:48 UTC

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The report finds that things have been getting worse over time for visual artists:
"Median income for visual artists is £12,500 a year, a 47% decrease since 2010 ... even with working several jobs, artists in the UK will still only earn a median of £17,500 a year"
www.dacs.org.uk/news-events/artists-earnings-report-2024
Not just visual arts, but other workers in the creative industries like #musician, #performer, #writer, #journalist:
"“Nothing ever seems to go up and, if you make a fuss, it’s suggested that there is always someone else willing to do it for less,’ ” Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2025
An open secret in the arts is that artists are support by extra jobs, families and other sources of income and wealth.
#art #inequality

2024-11-05 12:07:14 UTC

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Making reasonable profits by providing goods or services is ok, but profiteering and rent-seeking are unacceptable.
I suspect that some AI companies want to be so "useful" that they are indispensable. They will eliminate competition (including humans) by massive investment. The ultimate aim is to be a rent-seeking monopoly like the current big tech companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profiteering

2024-09-24 09:03:47 UTC

A tiling of regular 4- and 8-gons and nearly regular 5-, 6- and 7-gons.
h/t David Wells (1991) The Penguin dictionary of curious and interesting geometry, p. 249
Grünbaum & Shephard (1987) Tilings and Patterns, p. 64, credits Altair Design (Holiday, 1970).
Online colouring version (second sample to the left) woodenbooks.com/index.php?id_category=20&controller=category&altair=1
#TilingTuesday #tiling #geometry #MathArt
https://media.mathstodon.xyz/media_attachments/files/113/191/717/340/443/478/original/1257dcedf24fdbf1.png

2024-09-06 12:05:13 UTC

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I'd hope not, but big AI is so resource-intensive that only large corporations (and their owners) can afford to do it. I'd like to think that some companies are different (like #Midjourney), but #enshittification of #ai seems inevitable without major social and regulatory changes like #UBI

2024-09-06 11:10:29 UTC

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As @npub12pw…zvxn wrote, “the way we deploy technology is the result of the political, economic and social views (or prejudices) that we bring to our relations with any technology. As Mumford argued, we can choose to use any technology in a democratic manner, or we can allow it to be used in an authoritarian way.” #ai
https://northwestbylines.co.uk/business/technology/is-artificial-intelligence-out-of-our-control/

2024-09-05 20:01:44 UTC

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"Ted Chiang Is Wrong About #AI Art" by Matteo Wong.
"He makes two major mistakes in the essay, first by suggesting that what counts as “art” is primarily determined by the amount of effort that went into making it, and second that a program’s “intelligence” can or should be measured against an organic mind as opposed to being understood on its own terms. As a result... Chiang winds up asking his reader to accept a constrained view of human intelligence, artistic practice, and the potential of this technology—and perhaps even of the value of labor itself."
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/09/ai-art-ted-chiang-automation/679715/