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Squaring the Circle for Project Navigation
I want to share a secret with you. It’s an ancient secret that’s been passed down through the ages from one generation to the next. It began with the oldest of human knowledge for the making of tools - and it’s still very, very useful in the present era.
During the middle era, many artist/engineers probably used some form of the Concept Compass, including Leonardo Da Vinci. It’s also very likely the very best workshops of the making guilds also used the Compass in one form or another.
Their secret was called ‘Squaring the Circle’. It wasn’t an end in itself. Instead, it was a means to learn by doing. It required one to pay attention to the details in a measure of work, resulting in an end product of very high, and almost timeless, quality.
Why am I revealing the secret?
No secret lasts forever. It’s time to share it so others can pursue Open Product Design.
Innovation happens everywhere and one can use the Concept Compass towards showcasing craftsmanship skills here on Instructables.
One can also discover more applications of the Compass in the soon to be released book ‘Elements of Open Product Design’.
Before revealing the secret, foundation stones must be provided to build the Compass upon.
Squaring the Circle for Project Navigation
I want to share a secret with you. It’s an ancient secret that’s been passed down through the ages from one generation to the next. It began with the oldest of human knowledge for the making of tools - and it’s still very, very useful in the present era.
During the middle era, many artist/engineers probably used some form of the Concept Compass, including Leonardo Da Vinci. It’s also very likely the very best workshops of the making guilds also used the Compass in one form or another.
Their secret was called ‘Squaring the Circle’. It wasn’t an end in itself. Instead, it was a means to learn by doing. It required one to pay attention to the details in a measure of work, resulting in an end product of very high, and almost timeless, quality.
Why am I revealing the secret?
No secret lasts forever. It’s time to share it so others can pursue Open Product Design.
Innovation happens everywhere and one can use the Concept Compass towards showcasing craftsmanship skills here on Instructables.
One can also discover more applications of the Compass in the soon to be released book ‘Elements of Open Product Design’.
Before revealing the secret, foundation stones must be provided to build the Compass upon.
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Signing UpStep 1Shapes of the Designing Art
Leave it to Leonardo to hide such a practical tool in plain sight. In the 15th century. Da Vinci applied the three shapes to explore biology, engineering and mathematics. But he did not keep this secret completely to himself.
Instead, he provided a map known as The Vitruvian Man, so that others with keen perception could apply the three shapes towards design. He wasn’t the first to attempt such a map, however, he was the first to carefully craft it’s details - refining it for practical use by others.
Unfortunately, Leonardo’s squaring of the circle would be distorted by alchemists. By the 17th century, they would misrepresent squaring of the circle.
To be fair, alchemists were trying to follow a standard set by the making guilds in practicing ‘the mysteries of the art’. In our present era, this is known as manufacturer trade secrets.
Unlike Da Vinci’s carefully crafted map, the alchemist symbol merely displayed the three shapes without real purpose. It would lead the foolhardy to the bane of the occult - or waste a lifetime trying to turn lead into gold.
The real intent of the three shapes is a starting point for outlining a design. Look at the room your in for a moment. Most of the products within are based on the square [or rectangle] shape. In most cases, the square embodies 80% of a product design. Triangles and circles are then stacked or combined with the square in order to refine the product design.
Initially, one begins with the three basic shapes to draw an outline for an open product design. It’s not clearly defined yet - it’s ‘out of focus’. By combining and stacking various shapes to the first outline the design becomes more clearly defined. The design steadily ‘comes into focus’. It’s a process of composition and resolution resulting in a final design.
Similar to Da Vinci’s map, the Concept Compass carefully ‘squares the circle’ for navigating a design towards a useful end product.
Instead, he provided a map known as The Vitruvian Man, so that others with keen perception could apply the three shapes towards design. He wasn’t the first to attempt such a map, however, he was the first to carefully craft it’s details - refining it for practical use by others.
Unfortunately, Leonardo’s squaring of the circle would be distorted by alchemists. By the 17th century, they would misrepresent squaring of the circle.
To be fair, alchemists were trying to follow a standard set by the making guilds in practicing ‘the mysteries of the art’. In our present era, this is known as manufacturer trade secrets.
Unlike Da Vinci’s carefully crafted map, the alchemist symbol merely displayed the three shapes without real purpose. It would lead the foolhardy to the bane of the occult - or waste a lifetime trying to turn lead into gold.
The real intent of the three shapes is a starting point for outlining a design. Look at the room your in for a moment. Most of the products within are based on the square [or rectangle] shape. In most cases, the square embodies 80% of a product design. Triangles and circles are then stacked or combined with the square in order to refine the product design.
Initially, one begins with the three basic shapes to draw an outline for an open product design. It’s not clearly defined yet - it’s ‘out of focus’. By combining and stacking various shapes to the first outline the design becomes more clearly defined. The design steadily ‘comes into focus’. It’s a process of composition and resolution resulting in a final design.
Similar to Da Vinci’s map, the Concept Compass carefully ‘squares the circle’ for navigating a design towards a useful end product.
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On an unrelated note, in regards to the alchemists, give them credit where credit's due! While many alchemists were pseudo-scientists or just plain charlatans, many of them were true scientists; their work planted the seeds of modern chemistry. For instance, alchemist Henning Brand had discovered phosphorus during his attempts to make the Philosopher's stone.
Again, thanks for posting :) Keep making stuff...or I'll report you to FedEx......
For me, the alchemist that should be given credit for planting the seeds of modern chemistry is Geber (Jabir ibn Hayyan), who preceded Brand by almost 1,000 years...
Geber could be seen as the source for the idea of 'the philosophers stone'. Unfortunately, occultists took a metaphorical meaning literally - which probably resulted in delaying the development of modern chemistry.
I wish I could say it was only limited to the medieval era in Europe - but sadly - our present day is filled with examples where metaphors are taken much too seriously as having literal meaning ...
The result? Ignorance is increased as some of the faithful are manipulated into a carrying out a witch hunt against science and scientists...
Hopefully there are enough Da Vinci's out there to help lead us out of this new dark age...
As long as FedEx doesn't get to them first - lol.
I'll read up more about Geber (oops, I almost typed "Gerber") now that you mentioned him, interesting stuff there. I had only briefly heard about him; Brand was used as an example because I knew him from a report I did in 8th grade science class. Lolz.
Guess what? Just this morning I passed a delivery truck that was a square-shaped box AND had round wheels!!!
What else could it mean, but that FedEx is part of a mass cover-up designed to repress the truth (hidden within secret codes inside DaVinci's artwork) that medieval alchemists wanted us all to reduce, reuse, recycle? WOA!
OMG! I am so freaked out right now!
Unfortunately, some medieval alchemists did waste lifetimes on nonsense. It was the making guilds that were the 'guardians' of reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man wasn't hiding any secrets - it had been known since at least ancient roman times...
But I think there is something to that FedEx Conspiracy...now I'm freaked out.
(but don't tell Fed Ex...)