Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Geometry - more verbal than visual

Exaggerating in order to make a point: We tend to think of Geometry as the science of visual data, and think of geometric objects as things we can see. I believe that is not correct and the Geometry is the description of what is visible.
In my example of a triangle, I acknowledge we can perceive sides, corners, angles, and such. We may also perceive size, a bit like 'area'. These words name things that are visual perceptions but naming their combination as "triangle" is an added step; and so is saying something that relates these named perceptions to each other. We do not perceive the triangle but rather it is the "invisible web of words and phrases" that make up our understanding of it.

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