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Numbers Versus True
Geometry is a mysterious bird. The ancient geometers thought it mysterious because its secrets were like jewels that fell from the heavens. Though it’s the earliest form of…
East Meets West (Or Vice Versa)
We are often asked if the traditional western practice of designing objects (such as furniture) to whole number harmonic ratios could have also been the case in the…
Cracking the Coffer Code
English oak chest; 16th century. Image from Wiki Commons, public domain. For George Walker and me what is truly fascinating about these early chests is that they…
The Hidden Hexagon
You can download a PDF of this blog post here: Hidden Hexagon
Solving Spans with Sticks, Strings, Sightlines and Stones
In this excerpt from our latest book, “From Truths to Tools”, we show how the carpenter’s of antiquity used the simplest of tools--those mentioned with…
Does this Entasis Make Me Look Fat?
Well no, dear, the curvaceous tapering just makes you look muscular. Or maybe it's just an optical illusion. Or maybe the builders knew that the swelling, though slight,…
Plumbing a Masonic Medal Mystery
Amongst this collection of Masonic "Past-Master's Jewels" medals, two show a representation of the pythagorean theorem. It is reported that its presence on the owner's medal indicates…
The Sector: For Free and For Sale!
If you haven’t heard of the sector, it probably means you aren’t an artillery officer or a ship’s navigator working in the 17th century! An invention attributed to…
Libella vs. Laser
Been thinking about the Libella lately...the ancient leveling tool. Would it be as accurate as today's laser levels? No, probably not. The precision of the laser would…
Thanks Theodorus
Theodorus of Samos of a very long time ago in the golden age of the Grecian Geometers: Where would we be without you? Historians attribute him with the…
