THE GOLDEN RATIO

By

MARIO LIVIO

Four stars out of five stars

This book is packed with information.  Right at the beginning is the quote by Socrates:  “Numbers are the world’s wonders.”  This is immediately followed by the definition of the Golden Ratio, on p. 3.  Even if you may have heard of the Golden Ratio, you are probably learning the definition the first time in this book.  The definition is elegant.  To arrive at the number, one has to solve an algebraic equation. The details are shown on p. 80. One cannot but marvel at the simplicity and elegance of both the definition and the solution.

Between the definition and the solution, the author gave an extensive account of the origin of counting and the history of numbers, both rational and irrational numbers, the group of mathematicians known as the pythagoreans, the counting of the procreation of rabits which led to the Fibonacci numbers, the relation between the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci numbers, and whether the great pyramid at Gaza had anything to do with the Golden Ratio.  Indeed, throughout the book, the author presented arguments, both for or against, many assertions that creators of certain paintings, architecture, literature, and even poetry had used the golden ratio in their works.  His arguments are backed up by numerous sources.  This part of the book is not easy to follow, and probably not attractive to many readers except some golden ratio enthusiasts.   The silver lining is that, in presenting these arguments, many prominent names were mentioned.  Among them are the big names, Plato, Laplace, Newton and Einstein, playwright George Bernard Shaw, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde, music composer Bela Bartok, and physicists Christiaan Huygens, Thomas Young and Albert Michelson.  There is a brief but inspiring biography of the astronmer Joannes Kepler. The reader also learns the person who has the highest IQ and what that number is.  A list of rectangles with different ratios of the two sides are provided and the reader is asked to choose the ratio that is the most pleasing to him.

The last chapter ends with the tantalizing title “Is God a Mathematician”?

In conclusion, while not many will enjoy the whole book, there are portions that will delight everyone.   

On a side note, after reading the book, I had no idea how Euclid could think of using a line to define the golden ratio, (I am paraphrasing the quote by Richard Feyman about Abert Einstein:  "I had no idea how he guessed the final result of general relativity”).