Squares and Rectangles

I experience our industrial and post-industrial society as having an orientation towards squares and rectangles.  These are prevalent around us in every day things - mores than circles, ovals, and waves.  Our houses, tables, pictures, paper - all kinds of things are square and rectangular - so many things come in those shapes.  The folders on my computer and the window I am typing in - these follow the pattern.  What makes this predominant? The predominance of the right angle in architectural plans is the topic of Why are most buildings rectangular?  by Philip Steaman.  He answers the question: "A geometrical demonstration comparing room shapes and room arrangements on square, triangular and hexagonal grids indicates that it is the superior flexibility of dimensioning allowed by rectangular packings that leads to their predominance".  His article is HERE.  So rectangular it is for many things - efficiency.  There might be more than this.  In a tutorial on how to use shapes creatively at visme.co  the ideas and feelings of shapes are outlined : Squares and rectangles are reliable, give stability and suggest order Circles represent completion, wholeness and harmony Pentagons, hexagons, octagons give designs a unique feel.  They can also be used to portray an already known use of the shape.  So in addition to efficiency, we get reliability, stability and order.  Squares and rectangles seem to be our chosen sensibility. I would think this has been the case since ancient Greece and Rome when geometry was explored and recorded.  I wonder what would change this progression? Can we evolve to another set of shapes?  I don't see easy answers in my search, so will pursue this in the future. We move to our pictures today -  taken in the Niagara Street arboretum where the weeping cherry tree is located. It is the subject of the last picture.

All About Lawyers

There is a general sense that lawyers are less than honest.   I checked out the the lawyer jokes and  found a wealth of cynical humour. For one-liners, these two seem to sum things up: - 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name. - Talk is cheap. Until you hire a lawyer. Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and honest lawyer, and an old drunk were walking along when they simultaneously spotted a hundred-dollar bill laying in the street. Who gets it?         The old drunk, of course, the other three are mythological creatures. Q: How many divorce lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb? A: 3 - one to argue for the rights of the old lightbulb, one to argue for the rights of the new lightbulb, and one to argue for the rights of the light socket A minister and a lawyer arrived at the pearly gates, Saint Peter greeted both of them and gave them their room assignments.         "Pastor, here are the keys to one of our nicest efficiency units. And for you, sir, the keys to our finest penthouse suite."         "This is unfair!" cried the minister.         "Listen," Saint Peter said, "ministers are a dime a dozen up here, but this is the first lawyer we've ever seen." Mark Twain notes... "It is interesting to note that criminals have multiplied of late, and lawyers have also; but I repeat myself." It is amazing how a profession can have such a long and enduring reputation.

Traveling Waves

Wave Patterns are mesmerizing and Dezi and I discovered yesterday at Nelles Beach in Grimsby.  We're looking at the most common traveling wave - lake and ocean waves.  We see the wave moving through the water, looking for the crest that will give the interesting patterns on the rock.  That's where my interest lies.  However, the science of wave patterns is most interesting and the physics lesson is available at:  http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Tw-Z/Waves.html