Rational Argument Project Memo Update #2

Background on the Project: 

Previously, my paper focused deeply on the mathematics in nature and how it ranges and influences the perceptions of different societies at various levels of modernization. This time I want to take a step back and just want to leave mathematics at the stand and ask it for a reason why it considers itself important. Here I attempt to explore mathematics not from the bland side that it may seem, but rather I want to seek out how mathematics influences human perception on the world. Why is is that some cultures have a predominantly rectangular geometry and others choose a bit more exotic curved geometry. I want to argue the importance of mathematics for the universal language it is and its ability to express creativity in a variety of ways. I want to delve into some exciting and unorthodox applications of mathematics and deduce how mathematics influences perception. How does fractal geometry and the mathematics of nature influence traditional art, philosophy, and architecture?
  How does rectangularity and its predominance in modern architecture influence modern perception on life, art, philosophy, and the structure on history. Mathematics and its influence on our special perception and our perception on beauty. Finally, I want to rationally argue the vital and prolific presence of mathematics in almost all fields of study, and argue why it serves as a fundamental universal language for all humanity. 

Discussion of Achievements: 

I rhetorically analyzed my first three academic resources. I analyzed the writers of these academic pieces predominantly from their appeal to logos through different modes of rhetoric. I also included two additional academic sources that explore the mathematical definition of beauty and the importance of mathematics as a contributor to all fields of study. One of my sources is authored by Sir Timothy Gowers, the renown British mathematician who explains the influence of mathematics on the world today in his keynote addresses at a conference at the prestigious Clay Mathematics Institute. I hope to deduce some important conclusions from this source. 

Discussion of Problems: 

Although the flow of my essay is coming on quite well, I must refine my sources to only the specific ones that address my issue at hand. I am still working on narrowing down my thesis and main idea of my paper. 

The Work Ahead: 

I must find coherent sources from all the needed fields that support or disprove my premise. I must summarize these sources and analyze their rhetoric.
         

Project Memo Update

Background on the project itself:

Look at architecture, art, fashion, and design in general. As I analyze these modes for creativity, I notice that the geometry and the mathematics underlying the art varies with culture and society. In the beginning, when only tribal nations walked the earth there were no cities or pre-existing, man-made designs that could have influenced certain types of architecture or art. Maybe later on in history such a possibility may have existed, but originally the geometry of nature inspired prehistoric artists. For example take a look at African art and the symbols of nature and recursive patterns that emanate from the pottery and textiles. Cave art, vestments, and ancient art all resembled and even mirrored the geometry of nature. In western culture, rectangularity dominates architecture and most design for goo mathematical and hence societal reasons - the need to pack more units into an individual area. Fundamentally, each culture and society has some dominate shape for a specific reason. These shapes may not be exact but there does exist a difference between rectangularity and circularity, linearity and patterns. All this geometry that dominates the world around a society has some effect on its perception. The linearity and rectangularity
or western and modernized cultures mirrors the linear perspectives and outlook on western history and religion. On the other hand, the recursive patterns and fractal geometry typically evident in more traditional cultures influences the circularity and repetitive aspects of eastern or African philosophy and reincarnation religion.

Discussion of the achievements:

I found three great academic sources that outline the basis of my research. I summarized all the sources in my paper and yet have to add the rhetorical analysis. The three sources cover my inquiry on fractal geometry in nature, African art and architecture, and the predominating rectangular characteristic of western architecture. Whether walking to a friends house, visiting the city, or journeying through some remote area of the world, architecture seems to be the most noticeable visual representation of perception and world outlook in a specific region of the world.  

Discussion of problems:

My topic is not that specific and may academics have not taken up the inquiry that I am evolving. I must look to multiple field of study to assess geometry and its effects on human perception. I must look to mathematics, architecture, psychology, anthropology, and history. Sometimes I struggles finding legitimate sources, lest luckily the majority are academic so I don;t have to worry about trivial rhetorical analysis that deals solely with logical fallacies made by writers of popular publishing.

Discussion of the work that lies a head:

I must find coherent sources from all the needed fields that support or disprove my premise. I must summarize these sources and analyze their rhetoric.

Recursion Examples

Here are some pictures that simplify the idea of recursion, which I am exploring in my search for a broader mathematical outlook on the world and nature.

Why are most buildings rectangular?

Image 

In his piece on the predominant rectangularity in architecture, “Why are most buildings rectangular,” Dr. Philip Steadman, a professor of architecture at University College London, logically explains that the “superior flexibility of dimensioning” allowed by rectangular design leads to its predominance. Steadman argues that western culture is dominated by the fundamental quadrilateral shape: the rectangle. The four sided shape dominates western architecture as well as most architecture in modernized societies all over the world because it allows for more area to be used for multi-room plans and housing.This source will allow me to establish my position maintaining the predominance of the quadrilateral in western and modern perspective. 

Fractal Geometry in African Culture

Dr. Ron Eglash, a mathematics professor at a Polytechnic institute in New York shares his exploration from the African continent. While exploring numerous African communities, Eglash presents the fractal and recursive structure of African villages. This source will allow me to explore the applications of fractal geometry in nature and its implications on various societies, especially African society which seems to be inspired by the fractal geometry of nature by which they model the structure of their everyday lives.