Monday, August 10, 2009

Mobius Strips

Dear Ask Heather 4 Free Advice,
M. C. Escher was fond of portraying Möbius strips, and they appear in his woodcut "Möbius Strip I." My question is: if I built a giant Mobius Strip, could I theoretically drive my car around it so that I came back to the same place I started?
Creatively Driving,
Tom English

Dear Tom,
I can see why this would concern you. This is one of the more complicated questions of human existence that I've yet to receive. After a certain amount of research, I would say yes, it is possible to drive your car around the Mobius Strip and arrive at where you started. Apparently, sculptors and artists have been plagued with similar questions for decades. As you know, the ants on Escher's Mobius Strip are able to walk around the entire surface of the strip indefinitely as there is no edge in the direction of their movement. This proves that you could drive your car back to the starting point. However, the catch is, you might be forever driving into infinity. If that doesn't bother you, and you don't have any plans for a while, go ahead and go for it.
Sincerely,
Heather

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