Celtic Code: Drawing Knots with Python
Posted2 months agoActiveabout 2 months ago
2earth.github.ioTechstory
calmpositive
Debate
0/100
PythonCeltic KnotsGenerative Art
Key topics
Python
Celtic Knots
Generative Art
The post showcases a Python script for generating Celtic knots, sparking interest in the intersection of code and art. The discussion is minimal but suggests a thoughtful appreciation for the creative application of programming.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Very active discussionFirst comment
N/A
Peak period
21
Day 15
Avg / period
11
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Nov 3, 2025 at 3:19 AM EST
2 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Nov 3, 2025 at 3:19 AM EST
0s after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
21 comments in Day 15
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Nov 18, 2025 at 2:49 AM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 45796932Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 7:49:56 AM
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.
Also: yes, good idea
The book is out of print now but it looks like you can borrow it on archive.org: https://archive.org/details/celticknotwork0000bain/mode/2up
1) Draw the 'skeleton' as a connected (simple?) graph in the plane
2) Place crosses at the midpoint of each edge
3) Connect the crosses with shortest (non-crossing!) connections (bit vague this, but is more obvious by hand)
4) Erase the crosses, and run over the line, assigning under/over as appropriate - you can also thicken at this step
This gives good free-standing knots, although may be more work for the dense knotwork in the OP's examples.
https://armory-rasa.tumblr.com/post/151872673763/drawing-wit...
If you try to define systematically what that difference is, though, it's not obvious. At the end of day, I think it's something like "degree of difficulty" or "amount of thought", which are vague concepts. Yet most would agree what the author here did requires more skill and thinking than typing "image of celtic knot" into Gemini.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_art
> From one point of view, for a work of art to be considered algorithmic art, its creation must include a process based on an algorithm devised by the artist. An artist may also select parameters and interact as the composition is generated. Here, an algorithm is simply a detailed recipe for the design and possibly execution of an artwork […]
Creating art by AI certainly also uses an algorithm to some extent but it cannot be said to have devised that algorithm and arguably also not to clearly define all parameters to the algorithm.
www.blackoakgames.com/collections/knot-dice
Really enjoyed how you traced your mental model through the journey of solving the problem.