Re: explain please the phi ratio

From: Chan-Ho Suh (suh_at_math.ucdavis.nospam.edu)
Date: 09/27/04 

Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 03:40:50 -0700

In article <df76407e.0409210630.27b0d10d@posting.google.com>, Randy Poe
<poespam-trap@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Chan-Ho Suh <suh@math.ucdavis.nospam.edu> wrote in message
> news:<200920042115182382%suh@math.ucdavis.nospam.edu>...
> > Architecture books seem to thrive on this kind of thing, so I wouldn't
> > be surprised if some modern architects have incorporated phi into their
> > work on purpose. I remember one particular book explaining how the
> > Greeks made the facade of the Parthenon into a golden rectangle. They
> > gave a very convoluted geometric argument and diagram to show this, but
> > never explained how they chose the rectangle with which they enclosed
> > the facade.
>
> Well, with the Greeks there's a fair chance the choice of
> phi is deliberate, since they had almost religious beliefs
> about the importance of ratios and the golden ratio in particular.
> A little Googling tells me that Pythagoras was very
> interested in phi, and was the origin of the idea that humans
> are proportioned according to phi. He is also the originator
> of the idea that (rational) ratios are important to
> music and harmony, originating the Pythagorean tuning
> that persisted for centuries.
>

Hmmm...so remember I said if you use Google, the noise-to-signal ratio
is high? For something like this, it's really better to go out and
read a made-from-trees book.

Let me make a comment in addition to what others have said.

Yes, Pythagoras was instrumental in promoting the idea that numbers are
the source to knowledge, e.g. "everything is number" etc. The facts of
the matter are that we know very little about Pythagoras, and much that
we know about him is apocryphal. I've yet to see any evidence that the
ancient Greeks had religious beliefs about the golden ratio in
particular.

> >
> > My favorite myth about phi is that it is supposed to be the ratio of
> > height of a person to navel height. Enough said.
>
> Possibly a myth, but firmly believed by the Greeks.
>

I doubt it; I suggest you take a look at Underwood Dudley's book on
numerology; he gives more references. The Livio book someone mentioned
also looks good, although I haven't been able to read it thoroughly.

It's funny how pervasive this golden ratio nonsense is. More so than a
lot of other things like finding 666 in books. Perhaps it seems much
more believable somehow.