Knitting, Binary Systems, and History

The work of Kristen Haring, a mathematician and technology historian, delves into significance of binary systems.  A recent Spark interview highlights how binary systems have appeared throughout history and across cultures. What fascinates me about Haring's work is her efforts to make both math and history physically tangible. For example, she undertook a project to to record messages in morse code through knitting. Women throughout history have placed 'secret messages' in textiles and other traditionally women's work material. Haring's act of knitting morse code reflects that tradition.

If you're interested in more connections between knitting and history check out this video of Kristen Haring's talk "How to Knit a Popular History of Media"