The Name
From The Lopsided Ape: Evolution of the Generative Mind, by
Michael C. Corballis:
Irving Biederman ...
has proposed a set of 36 generalized cones that he calls
geons, which is short for "geometric
ions". He suggests that this basic vocabulary is sufficient to generate
virtually all of the shapes we know, at least to the point at which they
can be recognized. The geons are chosen, moreover, so that they are as
discriminable from one another as possible, even when rotated into different
orientations.
I liked the name and "geonetics" was
already taken, so GEONius it is!
The Logo
Our plaster ceilings at home have a repeating flower pattern made by rotating
a brush while the plaster is wet. When the sun is at the right angle, one
of the petals on one of the flowers looks like a big-beaked penguin in a Nehru
jacket - or maybe that's just my Linuxishness tweaking my perception!