Geometry Essay, Research Paper

Geometry was actually first used in ancient Egypt and Babylon at around 2000 BC in both cases. In order for the Egyptians to build such massive structures as the pyramids they had to have made plans for them prior to the actually building, in these plans geometry had to be used. On ancient Babylonian tablets there is evidence that they understood the Pythagorean theorem. The so-called “father” of Geometry is Euclid a Greek mathematician. He wrote The Elements, books of postulates and theorems, which paved the way for modern Geometry.

Five occupations that use Geometry in their daily routine are masonry, carpentry, architecture, engineering, and interior design. Two ways that a mason uses Geometry are in finding out how much material is needed for a job by using area formulas and while brick laying a mason must make sure the bricks are being laid at the correct angles. Two ways that a carpenter uses Geometry are in finding out how much material is used and making sure that corners meet at right angles. Two ways an architect uses Geometry are in drawing blue prints with the help of a protractor and it is widely known that when designing something, if it is “Phi” times as long as it is wide, than it is aesthetically pleasing. As an engineer, you must use Geometry in determining how many degrees the increase of a ramp is also, Pythagorean Theorem is used to determine the lengths of the third sides of triangles. Interior designers need to use geometry constantly, they must use area formulas to see what they can fit on walls and in rooms, and they also use “Phi” to make designs.

Geometry has influenced art in many ways, especially in the creation of new forms or art. Cubism, which led to Surrealism, came about early in the 20th century in France. Artists like Picasso and Geoges Bracque used Cubism, which is penetrating the surface of objects and stressing basic abstract geometric forms that presented the object from many angles simultaneously. Op Art, or optical painting, is a movement in art that was started in the 1960’s. It is characterized by geometrical forms that create an optical illusion in which the eye is required to blend the colors at a certain distance. With out using geometric shapes, no work of art would have any order.

For my article that uses geometry, I chose the first page of an article in ESPN magazine. The pictures on this page are all in what seems to be parallelograms, this makes them stand out more. Also I believe that the 2 acute angles on the parallelograms, which are pointy, make the picture stick out. I am sure that they were put there for effect, and it works indefinitely. If the pictures were just placed on the page, there would not be enough order, by using geometric shapes it gives the page order and outlines the pictures.