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A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science |  | Author: Michael S. Schneider
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Category: Book
List Price: $18.99
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Seller: athena_books
Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 11658
Media: Paperback
Pages: 351
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.3 x 1
ISBN: 0060926716
Dewey Decimal Number: 516.001
EAN: 9780060926717
ASIN: 0060926716
Publication Date: November 8, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The Universe May Be a Mystery,
But It's No Secret Michael Schneider leads us on a spectacular, lavishly illustrated journey along the numbers one through ten to explore the mathematical principles made visible in flowers, shells, crystals, plants, and the human body, expressed in the symbolic language of folk sayings and fairy tales, myth and religion, art and architecture. This is a new view of mathematics, not the one we learned at school but a comprehensive guide to the patterns that recur through the universe and underlie human affairs. A Beginner's Guide to Constructing, the Universe shows you: Why cans, pizza, and manhole covers are round.Why one and two weren't considered numbers by the ancient Greeks. Why squares show up so often in goddess art and board games. What property makes the spiral the most widespread shape in nature, from embryos and hair curls to hurricanes and galaxies. How the human body shares the design of a bean plant and the solar system. How a snowflake is like Stonehenge, and a beehive like a calendar. How our ten fingers hold the secrets of both a lobster and a cathedral. And much more.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 59
 Relates Geometry to Life January 10, 2002
Kenneth James Michael MacLean (Ann Arbor, MI USA)
81 out of 81 found this review helpful
This is a very well written book that relates some basic concepts in geometry to science, architecture and life. Each of the ten chapters is about a geometric shape and Mr. Schneider shows how to construct it using only compass and straight-edge. The author begins every construction from a circle, and every line is shown as the intersection of two or more circles. This is consistent with his assertion in Chapter One that the circle is Unity, but I believe it is also more accurate geometrically.
Mr. Schneider gets into the Platonic Solids, explains the golden section and its use in architecture and nature, shows the regularity in nature and a lot more. This is a very educational book that covers a lot of ground, and does so in an entertaining way.
What I really like about the book is the author's ability to bring geometry to life. There are many diagrams, drawings and pictures which make it easy to follow the text.
The book is written for the layman, not the mathematician. If you are looking for a more rigorous introduction to geometry, try reading H.M.S. Coxeter (if you can!).
This book would be a nice companion to "The Power of Limits" by Doczi, 'The Geometry of Art and Life" by Ghyka, and "The Divine Proportion" by Huntley.
If I had to recommend only one book about geometry for the average reader, this book would be my first choice.
A fascinating trip through symbolic math February 19, 2004
JLind555
71 out of 74 found this review helpful
Who knew that our universe is such a spectacularly ordered place? Michael Schneider takes us on a fantastic voyage through the primary numbers one through ten, and shows us how numbers and geometry have helped shape our world and the cosmos. Why is a manhole cover round? Because a circle, whose diameter is everywhere equal, is the only shape that won't fall into its own hole. Three symbolizes harmony -- life has a beginning, a middle and an end. Life forms are often characterized by pentagons (cut an apple in half crosswise and look at the seeds), while six is the number of structure-function-order, as seen in the hexagonal symmetry of crystals and snowflakes. This book is by no means for math majors only; even math dummies like this reviewer will find themselves totally caught up. Art and design students especially will appreciate the almost infinite variety of possible designs suggested within each primary number and the basic shapes (circle, square and triangle). Schneider also shows how, with a compass, pencil and straightedge, one can construct one's own symbolic universe. I came away from this book not only enlightened on the subject of symbolic math, but blown away by the relationship between geometry and religion. Because reading this book makes one realize that the universe is not random, as we see it within our limited scope, but has a definite function and order, and perhaps only the God who created it according to His plan can see it whole.
Very accessible "sacred geometry" book! December 10, 1995
44 out of 46 found this review helpful
I'm quite biased because I'm the author. Just thought I'd mention that it took over 20 years of research and 2 years to write & illustrate (500 illus!), plus hundreds of relevant quotations in the side margins.
The numbers 1-10 (&12) are the key to the code of nature's designs, and are the basis of an ancient symbolic language used to design the arts, crafts & architecture worldwide.
Each of 10 chapters looks at that number & its related shapes, as they appear in nature's beautiful forms, in art, in symbolism, and as archetypes of our own spiritual nature.
Shapes are the characters of the alphabet in which the Book of Nature is written, and this is a "math" book with no math (the kind of cold "math" we were shown in school, anyway). Some people call it "sacred geometry".
This book will save you years of research, and show you how to appreciate the shapes of nature as a symbolic language familiar to our deepest self. Every shape has a "meaning" and this book shows you what they are. Reviews (Parabola Journal Winter 95, New Age Journal 8/95, etc, all remark how "accessible" it is.
I hope you enjoy it. If you read it, write me, if you like.
Happy Trails!
Michael S. Schneider
NYC
Recounts the Hidden Role of Number in Art and Science February 29, 2000
Theodore G. Mihran (Schenectady, NY USA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
This book is a labor of love...and discipline, and hard work. The quotations given on the wide margins of most pages are worth the price of admission alone. For instance, "The union of the mathematician with the poet, fervor with measure, passion with correctness, this surely is the ideal (William James). It is also the theme of the book.But that is only the beginning. There are at least two, to as many as ten, illustrations on each page, half being scientific, the other half artistic. My favorite combination is the splash crater of a milk drop on p. 11 and the Hindu deity Shiva Nataraj on p. 4. They form a complimentary pair visually and philosophically, both illustrating the monad, a generating center with a resultant circle of generated objects. In the next two chapters, two intersecting circles lead to the tension-filled dyad whose resolution is in the triad, which breaks the tension by allowing expansion to another dimension. In my words, this sounds a bit mystical and foggy, but Schneider provides just the right amount of background which carries you into the heart of the world of numbers, showing how they reflect both the scientific construction of the universe as well as artistic human creations. The longest chapter is on the number five, which remarkably leads to the spiral, and to the generation of life. These are very valuable insights, much to be pondered. This chapter also contains an excellent discussion of the Golden Mean, the number 1.618..., which is often found in nature as well as in human expeience. Just pick the book up sometime and glance at the quotations and illustrations. If you can resist buying it, you are a better man than I am.
An addictive adventure in the history of natural math. November 28, 1998
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
It was very difficult to put this book down. Not only does Schneider evince a love and profound knowledge of his material, but he communicates his passion to the reader with a clarity uncharacteristic of many math exposeurs. It is a perfect teaching vehicle for parents and their children to foster a heartfelt respect for the mathematical majesty of nature, using examples from cultural history across the globe. His discussion of music and symbolic geometry is especially enlightening. This book should be required reading for any and all educators. A wonderful read!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 59
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