“Mathematicians do not crochet; they do mathematics.”, she was told.
She didn’t listen.
That’s probably why Daina Taimina was able to find the solution to a problem that had eluded mathematicians for over a century. And in two hours.
Mathematicians were struggling to find a way to represent the hyperbolic space physically. When Daina was attending a workshop in 1997, she witnessed the professor construct a hyperbolic plane by taping circular strips of paper together.
Daina, a Maths professor, connected her traditional, domestic and feminine skill of crocheting with her work in maths. And just like that, she crocheted the hyperbolic plane.
Links in comments to her Ted talk.
More often that not, the case for Diversity is typically one of securing rights for a certain section.
The true power of diversity is manifest in the outcomes of whatever it is that we are building today.
Could we be losing out on potentially valuable insights because we are excluding non traditional perspectives?
Thoughts?
Image: Daina Taimina with her crocheted hyerbolic plane models
Liji Thomas 
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