The Golden Section

[frogus23]

The golden section is a line segment divided into two parts. A middle point (C) is positioned such that the ratio of the short half to the long half is equal to the ratio of the long half to the whole.

A------C---B

The ratio of CB to AC is the same as the relationship between AC and AB...Got me??

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How far is our idea of beauty derived from that ratio??
Many people find well proportioned human faces and bodies beautiful...many people find the Parthenon and the pyramids beautiful...many people find snail shells and flower petals beautiful...Notre Dame Cathedral, Leonardo's Last Supper et al...

Without knowing the natural importance of the golden section. In the growth of many organisms, the golden section is the only ratio into which natural cell development from points of growth can be fit while retaining a similar shape through life...If organisms are a particular shape for a reason, more often than not they must eventually develop in proportion to the golden section or lose their other desired characteristics...


So does anybody feel cheapened by the notion that beautiful things can be constructed by reference to a formula derived from natural necessity & practicality??

Know any other instances of the golden section in art or anything, or can anybody elucidate the natural roots of it better??