Science on the Tree 4

Tonight's Science on the Tree ornament is a little more obscure:

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Given the conical sort of shape, I suspect it's meant to be a Christmas tree, but it's abstract enough that it could really be some sort of Calabi-Yau thingy, so we'll let this stand as a symbol for string theory and other abstract mathematical areas of science: It's intricately patterned, follows elegant mathematical symmetry, and nobody's entirely sure what it's really supposed to be.

Also, it's made of straw. That may have some symbolic meaning, but I'm not sure what.

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How about this (far removed from string theory of course, except for the fact that the string is still attached): a top that has run out of motion (and this can lead to a lot of tangential philosophizing). If it were spinning, it would have stayed horizontal. Because it lost that angular momentum, gravity has it hanging upside down.

but it's abstract enough that it could really be some sort of Calabi-Yau thingy

Oh, honey. You can just say, "This is something mathy!" and wave your hands. Lie with conviction!!