God’s beauty ignites within us a desire to seek Him and dwell in His presence.
God’s creation is beautiful. As beings made in His image, we share in His creativity.
Psalm 27:4; Psalm 8
“The mathematician’s patterns like the painter’s or poet’s, must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colours or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test; there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics”
Hardy, 1940, p. 85
God built beautiful mathematical patterns into His world when he created order out of chaos.
Humans are made in God’s image; therefore, they can create beauty to bless others.
The numbers themselves can be beautiful!
After each creative act, God pronounced His work to be “good” (Genesis 1). His work ultimately reflects his goodness.
God communicates his goodness freely and extravagantly for humans’ sheer and unmitigated delight.
Teach students to see the beauty in God’s world through a mathematical lens!
- Patterns, proportion, regularity, and elegance are built into creation.
- Fractals that point to infinity; symmetry in nature; golden ratio
- Spirals: pinecones and pineapples; cyclones; horns of wild sheep; spider webs; fingertips; genetic structure of DNA; tails of comets; and galaxies
- Prime numbers; the number 6; the number e; Pascal’s triangle
- Students can go outside or online to find beautiful maths and share it!
Reflect God’s beautiful creativity
- Teachers can create beautiful learning environments and model beautiful work through materials such as PowerPoints, posters, and handouts.
- Value and display the beautiful work of students to enrich the learning spaces.
“The knowledge of mathematics unveils not only vistas of beauty and power unsuspected before but also an order, symmetry, and infinitude which stuns and awes the beholder”
Nickel, 2001, p. 216, citing Zimmerman, 1980
Here are some tools to help you bring mathematical beauty into the classroom:
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Assignment: Pythagoras art
Students investigate the life of Pythagoras and create beautiful artwork using his theorem. Read more
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Theme: Geometric patterns and fractals
Mathematics helps us discover and notice the beautiful geometric designs that are in God’s creation. In turn, made in God’s image, we can create beautiful designs to serve and enrich the lives of others. “For ever since the world was… Read more
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Activities: Pascal’s Triangle – Beautiful Number Patterns!
Students explore the beautiful number patterns contained within Pascals Triangle. Read more
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Introductory PowerPoint: Geometric patterns in nature
PowerPoint: Geometric patterns in nature Fractals: These designs were not created by chance or by evolution, nor should they be worshiped. Rather, Jesus came to redeem humankind, and He opened our eyes to know God the creator. Download PowerPoint –… Read more
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Activities: Beautiful Number Patterns
Activities to help students see that, humans, made in God’s image, have created a number system that contains its own patterns and beauty. Read more
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Assignment: Beautiful Power Pylons (Geometry)
How can we possibly turn power pylons into something beautiful? Students re-imagine power pylons as beautiful. Read more
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Assignment: Fractal triangles and beautiful work
Students explore fractals in God’s creation; and create their own beautiful work to enrich the lives of the community. Read more
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Assignment: Recurring and terminating decimal investigation
Students explore the beautiful patterns that emerge from the mathematical laws governing recurring and terminating decimals. Read more
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Activities: Scale drawings – creating beautiful work
This activity helps students identify beauty in God’s creation. Reflecting that they are made in God’s image they create beautiful work to enrich the lives of their community. Hence, they can learn to value their work. Read more
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My story: Turtles
I almost skipped my early morning Sunday beach walk. The tide was at its highest on a gloomy morning, leaving only a narrow strip of soft and difficult sand to walk on. The weather matched my morose mood, but I… Read more
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Theme: Integers and Number patterns
Mathematics helps us more fully appreciate the design, detail and infinitude of God’s creations. Humans, made in God’s image, have created a number system that contains its own patterns and beauty. Read more
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:
Psalm 27:4
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and seek Him in His temple