We don’t look at polka dots twice. Our brains immediately recognize that they’re a repeating pattern of dots. The same goes for plaid, chevron or any kind of design. We’re also able to look at a bunch ...

Philip Ball's Patterns in Nature is a jaw-dropping exploration of why the world looks the way it does, with 250 color photographs of the most dramatic examples of the “sheer splendor” of physical ...

Among the sleek catalogues at the entrance to the Clifton Benevento Gallery sits a tattered hardcover, its paper jacket ripped to reveal the plain binding. This is artist Polly Apfelbaum’s copy of A ...