Itemize Books In Favor Of The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
| Original Title: | The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number |
| ISBN: | 0767908163 (ISBN13: 9780767908160) |
| Edition Language: |
Mario Livio
Paperback | Pages: 294 pages Rating: 3.79 | 5549 Users | 342 Reviews
Commentary As Books The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
Throughout history, thinkers from mathematicians to theologians have pondered the mysterious relationship between numbers and the nature of reality. In this fascinating book, Mario Livio tells the tale of a number at the heart of that mystery: phi, or 1.6180339887...This curious mathematical relationship, widely known as "The Golden Ratio," was discovered by Euclid more than two thousand years ago because of its crucial role in the construction of the pentagram, to which magical properties had been attributed. Since then it has shown a propensity to appear in the most astonishing variety of places, from mollusk shells, sunflower florets, and rose petals to the shape of the galaxy. Psychological studies have investigated whether the Golden Ratio is the most aesthetically pleasing proportion extant, and it has been asserted that the creators of the Pyramids and the Parthenon employed it. It is believed to feature in works of art from Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to Salvador Dali's The Sacrament of the Last Supper, and poets and composers have used it in their works. It has even been found to be connected to the behavior of the stock market!The Golden Ratio is a captivating journey through art and architecture, botany and biology, physics and mathematics. It tells the human story of numerous phi-fixated individuals, including the followers of Pythagoras who believed that this proportion revealed the hand of God; astronomer Johannes Kepler, who saw phi as the greatest treasure of geometry; such Renaissance thinkers as mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa; and such masters of the modern world as Goethe, Cezanne, Bartok, and physicist Roger Penrose. Wherever his quest for the meaning of phi takes him, Mario Livio reveals the world as a place where order, beauty, and eternal mystery will always coexist.
From the Hardcover edition.
Mention About Books The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
| Title | : | The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number |
| Author | : | Mario Livio |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 294 pages |
| Published | : | September 23rd 2003 by Broadway Books (first published 2002) |
| Categories | : | Science. Nonfiction. Mathematics. History. Philosophy. Art. Popular Science |
Rating About Books The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
Ratings: 3.79 From 5549 Users | 342 ReviewsDiscuss About Books The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number
Terrible book. Poorly written. Vague. No direction. This book is more numerology. The author creates loose and thin parallels to Phi, then refutes them. This happens repeatedly throughout the book. The great pyramids might be built based on a ratio similar to phi. Oh, no, maybe not. Oh, these painting might contain phi built into some of the geometry. Oh, wait, nope. They don't. The artist didn't even know what phi is.The content makes no sense.The author goes into lengthy sidebars about art andWell, I was expecting something a bit more exciting because of my natural love for Phi, simply because, you know... SPIRALS are EVERYWHERE, Dude.Still, the author does a palatable job of giving me a fairly decent history of mathematics from the focus of the Golden Ratio, the Golden Triangle, the logarithmic spiral, the Fibonacci sequence... all of which is, of course, the same thing, expressed slightly different with a ton of additional cultural significances. No surprise here. This is Phi.
My review for this book will consist of the suggestion of a new title: "In which the author describes in great detail several ways in which the Golden Ratio was documented to be used in art and architecture and then proves those ways to be false with very little detail, and then rambles on for a bit about some other number theory and whether or not God is a mathematician, but generally leaves you somewhat less impressed with Phi than you were to begin with"I'll admit it's not very catchy, but it
A great book, perfectly suited for the casual lover of math or the avid mathematician. The intricacies of the Golden Ratio show up in nature and data constantly, and I am quite sure that I will never look at the world the same way again. The mathematical proofs combined with application to the world provide a very comprehensive book.
Between 1 and 2, these pretty whole numbers, lies a number so fascinating that you might be overwhelmed with the beauty of quantifying beauty's perception. Enter Phi= 1.6180339887....This humber can explain the difference between the architecture of the Guggenheim as opposed to that of any classical courthouse (picture columns and squares).The latter are commensurable numbers unlike Phi, which defines rose petal growth, mollusk shell growth, The proportions in Kate Moss's face, and many other
Mario Livio's The Golden Ratio nicely balanced the last book I read about the world's most astonishing number. Actually, it far surpassed it! While Livio debunks the opinion of others that phi is conspicuous in the ancient pyramids and other monumental ancient works of art, his lively discussion of other places where we are surprised to find phi is enlightening and entertaining. Whether you are curious to know more about the golden number, the golden ratio, the golden triangle, rectangle,
It is a great book. I finished it in 2 days. Very stimulating in that I love books that try to give a relationship between numbers and the nature of reality. PHI 1.6180, not to be confused with PI 1.14159, is considered the Golden Ratio. Discovered by Euclid over two thousand years ago.The book is a captivating journey through art and architecture, botany and biology, physics and mathematics. It tells the human story of numerous phi-fixated individuals, including the followers of Pythagoras who
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