Stick models of projective configurations

Abstract

Although projective geometry is an elegant and enlightening domain of spatial thinking and doing, it remains largely unknown to the general audience. This shortcoming can be mended with the aid of figures consisting of points, lines, and planes, that illustrate various projective phenomena. In practice, these configurations can be assembled physically from sticks tied together at their crossings. As an example, I discuss a set of five configurations and some of the projective topics connected to them. The activity of building the stick models offers an instructive, simple, and sculpturally engaging approach to projective geometry. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT