MA 117
Mathematical Concepts
Arcadia University
Spring 2005
In 1960 a group in Paris began working together to discover new
potentials in literature. If you add the first two letters of the French words
for workgroup, literature, and potential, you get OULIPO, the group's name.
They believe that literature is what happens when you write inside a system of
constraints that you choose to follow, letting them stimulate your creativity
and curb your wandering attention, the way puzzles stimulate you to figure out
how to do with what you have. A sonnet, for example, imposes upon you a
fourteen line length, a rhythmic scheme, a rhyme scheme, and a history of usage
for how the first eight lines relate to the final six both formally and
thematically. We tend to think that literature is born from individual
inspiration and genius, a story we derive from Romantic poetry, perhaps. The
OULIPO group argues the opposite--as in this comment from Raymond Queneau, a
key player in the group:
The classical playwright who writes his tragedy observing a certain number
of familiar rules is freer than the poet who writes that which comes into his
head and who is the slave of other rules of which he is ignorant.
Constraints can free you from the tyranny of infinite possibilities by
channeling you into the form and meaning of a constraint; it can make you aware
of the rules you are following. Benjamin Perec wrote a novel without using the
letter e, a novel about disappearance. Arbitrary constraint and theme spoke to
each other.
The mathmaticians, historians, writers, and miscellaneous others in the group
were fascinated by what happened when you impose some arbitrary rule more
drastic than classical dramatic form or the Renaissance sonnet. The rule acts
as both constraint and stimulus. Remember essay tests when you had to come up
with five reasons for the Civil War? That constraint forced you to cull up from
memory more reasons than you might have been inclined to go on about in your
exam.
Constraints and rules as such interested the OULIPO group, but also the nearly
infinite permutations possible in a relatively small mechanism of constraints.
The,
The common core, all is
circle of.
The,
The phenomenon that
piques was congruent, whenever draws.
These,
These squares naturally
themselves, and reflect.
The,
The overlapping is an,
of, some,
Some,
Some of us, strictly,
and,
And.
All,
All in all,
Each pattern to.
Jessi,
Jessi and Ali’s was,
The.
She,
She particularly enjoyed
ideas with.
2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19,23
Common
core:
All
work between
Circles
off the initial.
Phenomenon:
That
piqued interest of congruent,
The
right,
Draws
sides, and draws,
Allowing
overlapping.
Squares:
Naturally
themselves;
Circles:
Our,
reflects insertion.
Circles:
Overlapping
is an aspect of pattern.
Some
exploration, this;
Of
us, strictly.
Triangles:
Of,
and, processes.
In
alt, each,
This
different, unique, and,
And:
Ali’s
was interested;
Particularly
enjoyed ideas.
Dealt
Is There a Pattern to the
Pinwheel Pattern?
This does rigid it an match
around
Saw interesting they not the
I only a yellow once tired find
with diamonds
They on asking one can a other
Shapes have symmetry is even all
I some things are like hexagon
Could find completed shape I to
this other
I moved to myself shape become whole shape
Fractals look like bright shapes
Intricate at each level
Zoomed in is another fractal
Rectangles, Circles, Triangles
Not ancient math
Objects that appear in nature
Fractals are moments in time
Is there anyway to know for sure?
Actually everything
While In Preschool
In the natural world
Pretty darn close
The mathematical world
Steps.
Amanda NcCaw
To be self similar
The outline of
Figures that are fractals
The big object
For instance,
To be self similar
All of the triangles
The outline of
A figure within a figure
Is in no way
To be self similar
Start with a simple line segment
Resources
Sneyd,
Steve. The number of language – writing poetry the Oulipo way. http://www.nhi.clara.net/z29.htm
Minister Joe. Oulipo exercise. http://www.enterthemuse.com/board/lofiversion/index.php/t7000.html
Published by the MA
117 Collective,
Peter Appelbaum, Coordinator.
215-572-4476