The goal is to arrive at the most efficient and elegant means of achieving a particular effect. “I want the result to be complex, but I want to simplify the process it takes to get there,” Dr. Ku said. “It reminds me of the quote in ‘Amadeus’: ‘There are simply too many notes.’”

As in math, it’s important to show your work. Sometimes this happens at origami gatherings, such as OrigaMIT’s annual convention, where paper folders from around the country come to spend a day at the school’s campus learning about new techniques. It can also happen online, in simple YouTube videos such as “How To Make a Paper Crane,” which has over 4 million views. “Showing your technique is one of the biggest aspects of origami,” said Taro Yaguchi, the founder of Taro’s Origami Studio in Brooklyn.

Before the 1950s, certain origami objects were more difficult to create, partly because diagrams weren’t standardized. Some guide books simply presented the results, without the necessary steps to get there. Yoshizawa, in Japan, and Samuel Randlett, in the United States, helped develop a set of international diagram conventions that is now referred to as the Yoshizawa-Randlett system.