“I got this tattoo, which encircles my left wrist, in 2000. The tat is described by this function(1/n)*sin(nx)
with n from 1 to 6. I had done a lot of work with fourier transforms on the research project I was involved in as an undergrad physics student, and just find the entire concept very beautiful. At the time that I got the tat, I was a master’s student in materials science and was taking a class on fourier optics. As music also plays a very large role in my life, the image/concept has a double meaning for me. As an added ‘feature’, the artist made a small mistake on the inside of my wrist (the n=4 line disappears for a bit). This really bugged me at first until I decided it was a good metaphor for how the messy reality of life is never perfectly represented by our mathematical theories.”
–Andrea Grant (now a climatology PhD student in Switzerland, where nerdy tattoos are still pretty shocking….)
Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.
Go Further
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- Animals
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Environment
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- Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security, Video Story
- Paid Content
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History & Culture
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- How technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrollsHow technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrolls
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- See how ancient Indigenous artists left their markSee how ancient Indigenous artists left their mark
Science
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- Every 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost timeEvery 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost time
- How do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tipsHow do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tips
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Travel
- Slow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capitalSlow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capital
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- Sharing culinary traditions in the orchard-filled highlands of JordanSharing culinary traditions in the orchard-filled highlands of Jordan
