Constructing an ellipse in a rosette section
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Date
2002
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Massey University
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Abstract
Geometry is a craft, an amalgam of science and art. A good development should be pleasing to
the mind, kin to poetry. When, after sedentation of a century, a desk was moved in the Laurentian
library1, it was discovered that the architect, Michaelangelo, had inscribed an ellipse in a rosette
section. Clarifying the nature of this ellipse eluded naive automated algebra. Herein I present a
development intended for human appreciation. It is an introduction to the geometry of the rosette
diagram. A sketch of the structure of the space of inscribed ellipses. A beginning to a pragmatic
description of the meaning and relation between some algebraic equations. A plan of attack on
a geometric problem with historical connections. This paper expresses core groundwork I have
been conducting in order to embark on the search for a more classical construction of the complete
elliptically decorated rosette diagram.
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Keywords
Geometry, Ellipse
Citation
Mills, B. (2002), Constructing an ellipse in a rosette section, Research Letters in the Information and Mathematical Sciences, 3, 25-35