A Mysterious Design That Appears Across Millennia | Terry Moore | TED

What can we make of a design that shows up over and over in disparate cultures throughout history? Theorist Terry Moore explores "Penrose tiling" -- two shapes that fit together in infinite combinations without ever repeating -- and ponders what it might mean.

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[jasonmillers]

The man delivered a wholesome lecture in 6 minutes with such articulateness. His delivery and pace made me watch it again.

[phoenixx]

The Penrose pattern is an illustration of some of the fundamentals of Chaos theory. The gist is that there are things around us that seem disordered or chaotic, but if one could get to the origin of the phenomenon, they would discover a very simple, orderly set of seemingly fundamental or even universal rules which set it in motion and can reproduce the phenomenon. In this case, while the pattern may never repeat itself, it must start with those two initial shapes.

[TravisRyan]

It is interesting to think that when one is under the influence of psychedelics, parts of the brain that never have anything to do with each other connect or “unify”. And the hallucinations under the eyelids can be some of the most intricate, complex, and beautiful patterning experienced.

[antonallen]

Whilst in a psychedelic trip I was astounded to realize that everything I looked at was made up of fractal sacred geometry. It was so beautiful it reduced me to tears and am beginning to realize that there must me something far deeper and less understood about these beautiful designs. My quest for the truth continues.

[ArmanBaig]

very rarely do i hear someone speak not only so articulately but with such profundity behind each statement. this speech was fantastic; a genuine treat to listen to. thank you very much terry.

[MrUbister]

I love how humans are naturally attuned to this "implicate order" through aesthetic beauty rather than explicit knowledge. It's crazy that every culture turns to math and geometry because everyone feels the hidden truth it can convey.

[TerriblePerfection]

This talk attracted me immediately because of my profile photo, which I've been using for a long time. I took it in Spain while visiting some famous attraction whose name I no longer recall, but the beauty and craftsmanship of this floor spoke to me, as it undoubtedly spoke to others back then and still does to this day.

[propagandery]

the first internet discussion I've seen in years where everyone is delighted and kind to each other... because of a wonderful lecture

[thdim]

Great presentation! I’ve always thought that Plato’s concept of “anamnesis” related to this too - the idea that there are things we are born knowing, forget as children, then educate ourselves to remember. From Bohm’s implicate order to sacred geometry and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life we see briefly in this video, there is a breadth of ideas we humans seem to keep re-discovering through the ages. And Schrödinger, of course, was a lifelong student and active promoter of Eastern mysticism and the Vedanta, seeing connections to the quantum world he was helping to reveal.

[NC-qcwd]

I love TED for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that it allows me to explore the world. On a trip to Uzbekistan, I was able to observe that beautiful pattern at a madrasa that I had never seen before. I was in awe of the intricate detail and was inspired by the craftsmanship that went into creating it, but now TED tells me what it was and what it mean.

[SqArno]

The most pleasing thing about such patterns is exactly the hint of underlying (overarching?) depth and order. I think most people can sense it. Even if they can't put in words, nor even consciously recognize that their brains are being tickled by something just below the surface.

[pjinpa]

This guy really has a knack with language, and objectively provokes quite a bit of unifying ideology in just a few minutes. Bravo, man!

[charlotteschuld]

As an artist, and teacher, I started drawing lessons by pointing out that everything you want to draw boils down to just two types of lines-straight and curved. Absolutely every shape, object, pattern, etc-is just a combination and repetition of these two lines. It gets complex when these two lines get thickened, broken, colored….but you get the idea. Fun.

[sofia.eris.bauhaus]

> here is a Penrose tiling.
nice!
> here is islamic art resembling a Penrose tiling.
cool!
> here is some completely unrelated geometric art from other cultures.
…okay? it seems not toi bother you that there is no evident commonality (or "underlying unity") there?
> we could call this god, blah blah blah.
sure you can, and with the right connection you even get a TED talk for it, i guess…

[RevYars]

For the same reason I think that if/when we discover and interact with alien civilizations, we will also find out that they play Tetris too. Simple yet elegant rules that lead to emergent beauty apply to both these patterns and to Tetris.

[Dilmahkana]

These patterns are truly mathematical, aesthetic, anthropological and manufacturing marvels. It's not surprising humans lean towards such geometries. The fact this is surprising to some of our 'smartest' minds shows how the siloing of academia hinder progress and insights. It also, however, shows how limited our perceptions are and how we do genuinely and beautifully filter nature through those limiatations (to great results, and terrible ones). No matter how geometrically complicated we get, nature is ever more complex and dynamic. It is humbling, to me.

[the.mystic.techie]

This presentation is of another level! What a great way to start your day by listening to this lecture! The morning is great

[garrettabcdefg]

One could almost say this geometry rides the line of chaos and order, where life thrives. Potentially why its been universally appealing

[gravelrash]

Plato, Spinoza and Whitehead are referring to the initial formation of our current universe with that terminology. I note to the Middle Eastern pattern also aligns with Chaldean and Eastern interpretations of the seven planes of matter and existence. Very interesting, hadn't realized its usage in architecture. The past has much to teach us, no wonder it was so ruthlessly scrubbed.

[TheBigSavvyBoss]

I was surprised he didn't mention the ZELLIJ!
The Moroccan zellij is the most obvious and most magnificent example of the patterns he talked about throughout his whole speech.
The craftmen in Morocco even talk explicitly about the spiritual charge and the symbolic/semiotic dimensions of their works. It's almost esoteric.
Thankfully, they preserved this millenium art and they still make it to this day with the traditional and authentic methods. You can even go onsite and watch them realizing it in front of you. Such a gracious experience ❤.
I was blessed to witness that, and believe me, the patterns and even the whole process where they take an "ugly" dull clay all the way to shape such marvelous masterpieces is just so captivating. It will definitely shake your spirit while also challenging your intellect 👌🏻👌🏻.
It's an experience I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY encourage people go for, especially if you visit the Imperial Cities of Fes or Marrakech in the Kingdom of Morocco.