Triangle Mystery Redux
Michael A. Jones
Associate Editor
Mathematical Reviews
To celebrate the tenth anniversary in 2012 of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead,
England, Steve Humble designed a hands-on activity to demonstrate concepts from an exhibit on
hidden order in apparent random processes. The activity involves placing playing cards in a triangular lattice based on some rules. It may not be too surprising that Pascal's triangle makes an appearance, but what about fractals making an appearance, too? We'll construct mysterious triangles and talk about the mathematics behind the activity, as well as some of the order that arises in the process.