Most patterns eventually repeat themselves. But in the 1970s, mathematician Roger Penrose discovered a set of shapes that could cover an infinite plane without ever repeating. Known as Penrose tilings ...

Mathematicians have discovered a single shape that can be used to cover a surface completely without ever creating a repeating pattern. The long-sought shape is surprisingly simple but has taken ...

John Conway’s Game of Life, a famous cellular automaton, has been found to have periodic patterns of every possible length. In 1969, the British mathematician John Conway devised a beguilingly simple ...