How grade 5 math saved my job?

Stressed about work, I was moments away from hitting the panic button. To take my mind off things, I started helping my 10-year-old nephew with his math assignment.  Five minutes into it, and BAM! I got it!

I work in the design & innovation team of Chatagram - the next big social media platform. I had already missed the first deadline to come up with a new photo filter idea, and after hours of research, watching hundreds of videos and reading a tonne of articles - I had nothing!

However, when all doors looked closed, grade 5 math came to my rescue!

One question on the assignment had a parabola graph, and the moment I saw it, I knew I had my photo filter! 

This graph depicts reflective symmetry, and the Y-axis serves as the line of symmetry. 

Using the same principle, I introduced a filter that allows the user to turn simple clicked pictures into whacky artsy captures like this one!     

In fact, I used all kinds of symmetry in math to add variations to the filter. Math has extensive application in the creative field, and artists use it often in their craft. 

You can find math in the works of famous sculptors and musicians. Shakespeare’s entire work follows an Iambic Pentameter, which is essentially mathematics in poetry!

Did you know that several impeccable filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson swear by the symmetry principle to add depth and beauty to their frames?

My team was kicked with the idea of using symmetry in our app. We plan to use more of it as symmetrical objects are perceived as more beautiful, and humans are naturally drawn to them. In fact, nature is full of such elements. Did you know all snowflakes have hexagonal symmetry? No wonder snowfall is often associated with beauty!

A quick way to spot reflective symmetry is to look for the line of symmetry. Can you see how a starfish exhibits symmetry?