The Divine Proportion by H. E. Huntley
178 Pages
Started: 27 July 2010
Finished: 25 August 2010
Huntley loves math more than anyone I’ve ever seen. He has a true passion for it. And you can’t help but feel that passion as well, even if you barely understand all the proofs he provides. He also has a passion for beauty, and truly understanding the intricacies of something to appreciate its beauty. These are combined in this book about the divine proportion, Phi, φ, the golden mean. And also, because they are related, the Fibonacci sequence.
The book takes you on a tour through history to discover what the ancients thought of the value, how they discovered it, where they discovered it, and how they used it. It then shows you all the places φ can be found today, both in the mathematical world as well as in the natural world of plants, insects, and animals. He talks about the relation to music and time and why it is believed that we prefer a golden rectangle to any other rectangle.
A fascinating book. But I think my favorite part was the passion. This man loves his math. And he loves beauty just as much.
Rating: 9
AmandaStretch
mom
Giggles
Brett L. Dennis
Huh, interesting!