The Golden Mean

The Golden Mean . Philosophically, Golden Mean refers to the "middle path," the best path between excess and deficiency as expressed by Confucius, Buddha and Aristotle. Mathematically speaking, Golden Mean refers to 1.61803399; it's also known as the Golden Ratio, the Golden Section and the Divine Proportion. Both interest me.



If I were to enumerate a list of what I think are ills in American society, the list would include a contention that we're too prone to extremes. If left doesn't work, it seems the next attempt will not be steering for the center but rather madly to the right. If not up, how about straight down? Staight forward be damned! How about a balanced diet? Of course not, the solution is the elimination of carbs.

Although America has produced many who have flown to extremely high heights, I still think we could do better with a little more emphasis on balance. The most prominent Western philosopher to address the Golden Mean was Aristotle in Book II of the Nichomachean Ethics. I think those passages have deserved greater emphasis in our culture. One reason I'm noting this is for future reference. A number of instances of what I consider "going to extremes" come to mind, and hopefully I'll find the time to note them in the future.



Moving on to the mathematical Golden Mean (Golden Section) is a book titled Geometry of Design by Kimberly Elam, published 2001 by Princeton Architectural Press. It's a nicely illustrated little study of proportion in composition and the place where graphic design and geometry cross paths.