Shape

122 I What Makes It Visual?
until there are only chevrons and a triangle. Whenever I try a rule, the convex vertices
of the chevron that’s moved are always outside points of the superstar. The number of
chevrons in this process depends on the number of points in the initial superstar. In
my example with a seven-pointed superstar, the number of chevrons is two. But in
general for 2n 1 points, n 2 chevrons are going to be pulled apart. In the full process,
2n 2 7n þ 6 intersections are lost. In particular, every time I apply a rule to move
a chevron in a superstar of 2i 1 points, 4i 9 intersections disappear. This is readily
confirmed in the equality
X
4i 9 ¼ 2n 2 7n þ 6
3aian
It’s a worthwhile relationship, the kind that’s found on tests in school. And today,
knowing how to prove it is the mark of an educated person, a good citizen, and a reliable
employee. After all, life unfolds with inductive regularity—once a rule is tried
everything plays out according to plan.
Of course, I can always turn everything around and calculate in the opposite
way. I can start with chevrons and a triangle
and then apply other rules from the schema x fi tðxÞ to move the chevrons to make a
superstar