Abstract / Synopsis
Cographs are complete graphs with colored lines (edges); in an intersection cograph, the points (vertices) and lines (edges) are labeled by sets, and the line between each pair of points is (or represents) their intersection. This article first presents the elementary theory of intersection cographs: 15 are possible on 4 points; constraints on the triangles and quadrilaterals; some forbidden configurations; and how, under suitable constraints, to generate the points from the lines alone. The mathematical theory is then applied to aesthetics, using set cographs to describe the experience of a person enjoying a picture (Mu Qi), poem (Dickinson), play (Shakespeare), or piece of music (Anna Magdalena Bach).
DOI
10.5642/jhummath.202201.03
Recommended Citation
Robert Haas, "Intersection Cographs and Aesthetics," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 12 Issue 1 (January 2022), pages 4-23. DOI: 10.5642/jhummath.202201.03. Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol12/iss1/3
