Nested fish and golden triangles: adult colouring and the beauty of maths

These mathematical patterns, by Alex Bellos and illustrator Edmund Harriss, are intended to engage the brain as well as provide a moment of stress-free satisfaction. Print off this page, get out your felt tips and start colouring

When people say that maths is "beautiful" it is usually meant in the abstract sense, such as to describe a theorem whose power, depth and concision provoke feelings of awe. Bertrand Russell called this "a beauty cold and austere " sublimely pure, and capable of a stern perfection".

Yet humans have traditionally also found aesthetic, sacred beauty in mathematics. Islamic and Hindu cultures, for example, are rich in stunning images based on geometric design. It was reflecting on the role of maths as a meditative and contemplative medium that I decided to compile a colouring book.