Tiny example
Rotate a square
Turn a square through 90 degrees around its centre.
It looks unchanged, even though every corner has moved.
Symmetry
Structure that survives a movement or change.
Symmetry is not just prettiness. It means something stays the same after a reflection, rotation, translation or other transformation.
Why it matters
Symmetry links pattern, transformation, geometry, art, nature and proof.
Things to watch for
- Thinking symmetry only means mirror symmetry.
- Forgetting to say what transformation preserves the object.
- Looking at decoration rather than structure.
Where it connects
geometrytransformationspatterns