02/26/05

Definitions:

Origami -

Origami is the art of folding.

(Japanese 'ori', to fold, and 'kami', paper).

Aerogami -

Aerogami is the art of folding and flying.

(English 'aerodynamics' and Japanese 'origami')

Paper airplane -

It is a toy aeroplane made out of paper. It is perhaps the most common form of aerogami, a branch of origami.

Note: These defintions were adapted from wikipedia.

Discussions:

I did not find the word aerogami in my dictionary, but I saw its presence on the web through sites like aerogami.com.

Aerogami differs from paper airplanes in that it does not include models created via any means other than folding. i.e. We are not supposed to make use of tape, gum or paper clips or any other material for the successful flight of the model. In other words, the magic of flight should be induced into the model only via the means of folding. Thus folding becomes an art. In my opinion, however, any aerogami plane can be improved by means of tape and clips or such things, but note that it is considered an  aerogami model in the first place only if it passes the test of flying without these accessories. In other words, extra attachments may be used just to enhance the flight of the paperplane.

It should be noted that paper planes are only a part of aerogami as aerogami models also include spinners, paper frisbees and so on. In short any model that exhibits interesting aerodynamic properties comes under aerogami. So we note that paperplanes are a subset of aerogami which is itself a category of origami. Thus the hierarchy is:

Origami > Aerogami > Paperplanes

In general, origami designs begin with a square sheet of paper, whose sides may be different colors, and proceed without cutting the paper. Contrary to popular belief, traditional Japanese origami, which has been practiced since the Edo era (1603-1867), has often been less strict about these conventions, sometimes cutting the paper during the creation of the design or starting with a rectangular, circular, or other non-square sheet of paper.

Being a category of Origami, the same discussion holds for Aerogami also. i.e. We are allowed to cut the paper or use even non-standard paper sizes. However, a purist of Aerogami would still argue that we should not cut the paper and use only square sheets.

In this site, you will find that I never cut the paper nor used any clip or tape or anything of that sort. Thus all the models are true aerogami models. However, I have made a little compromise by using Standard paper sizes like A4 or 'letter' apart from the conventional Square.

The aerogami purist would be pleased if he folds the Square-sabre or the Sabre-sharp. Both these planes employ a square piece of paper.

Note: Whether we say 'paper airplane' or 'paper aeroplane' or 'paper plane' or even 'paperplane', they all mean the same thing.

I would be glad to have your feedback.

ravykumar@gmail.com