![]() Venn's own general rule was that one subdivides the regions adjacent to the most recently added curve.Įdwards presents an extremely personal view of Venn diagrams. Most readers will be familiar with the classic Venn diagram formed of three interlocking circles (as shown in the photograph below of the stained-glass window dedicated to Venn), which create eight distinct regions by the process just described.Įdwards begins by presenting a most interesting history of Venn diagrams and then discusses some of his own discoveries, such as the fact that a very nice sequence of Venn diagrams results from successively applying the rule of subdividing the regions adjacent to the first drawn curve. If 2 npieces of paper result and each one has a unique label, then what you had before the cutting started was a Venn diagram. Now imagine taking a sharp knife and cutting along each of the curves. Repeat the process, for curves 2, 3 and up to n, and label each region according to the identifying numbers of the curves that enclose it. This curve divides the paper into two parts, the region inside the curve and the region outside it. He then went on to discover an important class of Venn diagrams as well as several rotationally symmetric Venn diagrams.īut what exactly is a Venn diagram? Pick up a pencil and draw a curve that meets itself only where the pencil tip first touched the paper this is curve number 1. This project stimulated Edwards's interest in Venn diagrams. Fisher at the University of Cambridge, proposed in 1988 that the centenary of Fisher's birth be commemorated with a pair of stained-glass windows-one for Fisher and one for Venn-in the Hall of Gonville and Caius College, where both men had been Fellows (a title Edwards also holds). The author, who was the last undergraduate student of the famous statistician R. There is no better place to start than with Cogwheels of the Mind, by A. Few, however, know anything about their originator, John Venn, or about the interesting and beautiful mathematics that arises from the consideration of Venn diagrams with more than a few sets. $25.Įvery high school graduate has been exposed to Venn diagrams. Cogwheels of the Mind: The Story of Venn Diagrams.
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