The Science Life Math

Father-son mathematicians fold math into fonts

MIT’s Erik and Martin Demaine create puzzle typefaces to test new ideas

Martin Demaine and Erik Demaine

WORKING TOGETHER  Martin Demaine (left) and his son Erik have drawn on mathematics and computational geometry to design fonts that incorporate puzzles. 

Dominick Reuter

By Meghan Rosen

- More than 2 years ago

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A mathematician once posed a deceptively simple question. Can a single 2-D conveyor belt be stretched around a set of wheels such that the belt is taut and touches every wheel without crossing itself?

MIT computer scientist Erik Demaine pondered the problem.