The ancient Egyptians found a particular ratio very pleasing to the eye. Their architecture is full of examples of this ratio. And you can see it even in a golden rectangle.

A golden rectangle is one from which, if you remove a square from one end (with side equal to the shorter side of the rectangle), what remains is a rectangle that is similar (has identical proportions) to the original rectangle.

What is the ratio of the longer side, to the shorter side (in the golden rectangle), and how did you determine it?
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By the way, I realize many people are familiar with this ratio (in which case this is a very easy problem), but for those who haven't, do them a favor, and please don't post the solution.

Try this on your calculator:

(√5 - 1) / 2

Now take the reciprocal

Now square the result

Posted by retiarius on 2003-11-27 02:29:23