Introduction to symmetry and its techniques

BIBLIOGRAPHY 65us.The narcissus, clover, star fish, and dragon fly-^ represent outstanding examples of symmetry in plant and animal life.Each of these examples represents a particular kind of symmetry which will be explained later.In the domain of the nonliving, the snow crystals provide an excellent example of S3mimetry.Nature is not content with displaying countless examples of symmetry in our presence, but also provides endless examples in the internal structure of life forms as well as nonliving objects.However, the symmetry of nature is not always perfect.Consider the oak leaf.There can be little doubt that symmetry is present about a central axis in the direction of the stem.This symmetry will probably not be perfect, for if the leaf is folded along the axis there will not be perfect matching.This can be considered as a result of imperfect development of the leaf.With ideal conditions the leaf p should develop with complete symmetry.Perhaps man's earliest attempt to adapt the symmetry displayed in nature to his personal needs foimd expression in the field of art.Crude but partly symmetric drawings give testimony to this fact.As civilization progressed it was only natural to expect symmetry to become an