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The Golden Ratio
The irrational number whose value has been given its own marking and many monikers. In Hebrew: The Golden Section, The Golden Ratio and in English:
Golden Mean; The Golden Ratio; The God Relation; Colden section; Divine proportion, Colden Mean; Mean proportional; Extreme ratio
Why has this number received such honor and numerous monikers?
The ancient Greeks found that using a proportion based on the golden ratio gives results that are pleasing to the eye. Many of the buildings and artifacts from the Hellenistic period can be found in the golden ratio. It has also been found that the golden ratio appears both in nature and in the human body. This wonderous number is also present in science, philosophy, and of course in art.
Here is one philosophical-theological interpretation:
The features of the Golden Ratio were known to artists throughout history and they used it to create compositions in their works. Here are some examples:
Another point of interest is the symbol that appears in a large number of national flags different religious character and identity – the pentagram. Even in a pentagram star one can find proportions between the various parts equal to the golden ratio.
During the course "When Mathematics Meets Art," the students learned about the number and its mathematical properties and expressed what they learned in their art work.
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