Fill the board. Symmetry around us
At dawn, there is an hour when the surface of the water on the lake is absolutely still. Cutting the mirror with the bow of the boat is pleasure! If you do not row and look at the picture, then you will make a couple of interesting discoveries.
The symmetry on the water surface, an unusually pleasant to the eye, seems truly poetic to those who appreciate such a view of things. Nature presents to our attention an infinite number of samples of visual harmony and amazing ornaments, and one who rows in a boat – if it is a little more attentive – will easily find them himself!
How to find harmony?
“Canoe along the valley on an icy lake, and this will be the pinnacle of your experience: the stunning geometry of the natural world that echoes your boat. This is a reminder of the incredible difference between people and nature, as well as an argument in favor of self-propelled travelers and their like-minded people, ”writes James Raffan, a speaker, traveler and canoeist.
“We are all attracted to symmetry. Scientists studying such things constantly prove the importance of symmetry for people who celebrate it from time to time, appreciating the beauty of objects.
Moreover, the most famous illustration of Leonardo da Vinci – “Vitruvian Man” – clearly indicates that the divine indication of the structure of the planet Earth lies in the symmetry and proportions of the human body. We tried to recreate the beauty in a variety of designs invented by us: from the Parthenon to stringed musical instruments and our own canoes.
The symmetry of the boats is indicative and attractive. In addition, the boat is a vehicle that allows us to reach wild places, kayaks and canoes, with their symmetry reflected in the water, invites us to think about harmony and beauty. So we get a chance to learn about simple truths – in the form of wood, water and sky …, ”writes James Raffan in his article for the rowing and canoeing magazine.
The drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, who is mentioned in a James article, is sometimes called the “canon of proportions of the human body.” In 1492, having lived for half a century, the greatest genius created an illustration for one of the books, and it serves to determine the harmonious addition of a man.
Some explanations:
foot is 4 palms;
the length of the ears is 1/3 the length of the face;
the navel is the center of the circle;
the scope of human hands is equal to the height of a person;
the height of a person is 24 palms (or 4 cubits);
the maximum width of the shoulders is 1/4 of the person’s height;
the distance from the elbow to the tip of the arm is 1/4 the height of a person;
the distance from the hairline to the chin is 1/10 of the height of a person;
the length from the tip of the longest to the lowest base of the four fingers is equal to the palm.
The drawing and explanations to it are both a scientific work and a work of art. It is often used as a symbol of the internal symmetry of man and the Universe as a whole. In 2011, Irish aeronautical artist John Quigley recreated a copy of “Vitruvian Man” on the giant drifting ice of the Arctic Ocean to draw public attention to the problems of ecological balance.
Anthropometric measures contained remarkable proportions, thanks to which the ancient masters created famous architectural monuments. Based on the da Vinci method and the rules of the “golden section”, the architect Corbusier developed a system of proportions – Modulor. The author described it as “a set of harmonic proportions commensurate with the scale of a person, universally applicable to architecture and mechanics.”
Albert Einstein spoke about the structure as follows: “Modulor is a gamma of proportions that makes the bad difficult and the good easy.”
Modulor contained some errors in the calculations, and, nevertheless, influenced the architecture of the twentieth century. The architects have long been trying to reconcile the irreconcilable: beauty and standard! The search for ideal or universal proportions does not stop and someday will lead to a clue.
The numbers on the Modulor scale are actual sizes corresponding to certain positions of the human body. Figure Corbusier.
The symmetrical shape of any boat, be it a kayak, a canoe, a pie or a catamaran, is due to the task that they solve – movement on water. People try to make the body as streamlined as possible in order to achieve minimal form resistance and the best hydrodynamics.
The floating apparatus on the drawings and drawings of Leonardo da Vinci often adopted technical ideas and forms of flying, and those, in turn, looked like birds. The bird’s body is elongated and wide in cross section, so it swims quickly and maintains balance on the waves, even with strong rolling.
Leonardo da Vinci’s long-term observations of the flight of birds and the structure of their wings allowed him to substantiate the principle of aerodynamic control. Leonardo owns a number of remarkable constructive ideas. For example, the creation of the fuselage (body of the aircraft) in the form of a boat.
