Mathematics education generally teach that numbers are quantities to count and calculate with. But it's quite a discovery to realize that they also represent qualities which we all innately understand -- wholeness, polarity, structure, balance, growth and more. These qualities are archetypal principles expressed in nature's forms and proportions of flowers, crystals, creatures, weather, astronomy and the designs of everyday technology surrounding us. This book provides a foundation into this knowledge of number principles written simply and plainly. It's completely illustrated -- plus hundreds of wonderful quotations in the margins -- to give you a language-lesson in reading the geometric language of the Book of Nature and the number and shape symbolism appearing in mythology, traditional architecture, religious literature, art, folklore, fairy tales and wherever we find number. If you can understand a shape in nature, you'll know what nature is doing there. This should be basic knowledge of everyone interested in environmental issues and should be taught to children in primary schools.
This book wasn't written for mathematicians but for those of us who were turned off by mathematics as it was taught in school, and who barely suspected that it was directly related to nature and art and could open a world of wonder for us.
A reviewer says it nicely:
"The most superb introduction to Sacred Geometry ever! 13 Jul 2005 By Mr. R. J. Alexander (Bristol, UK)
"I cannot rate this book too highly. When I ordered it, I presumed from the cover artwork (and the title) that it would be a kind of "Sacred Geometry for Dummies". I was, in fact, looking for a relatively easy primer to help me grasp the basic principles of this hugely deep and densely arcane subject, but what I did not anticipate was that it would be both exceptionally accessible as well as intellectually satisfying. Our culture has no innate understanding of "the mathematical archetypes of nature, art, and science" (the sub-title) and in fact, our culture, being so hamstrung, so crippled by left-brain dogma, does not even consider that nature, art and science could have any possible common denominator to even discuss! That the author could express ideas that are really so beyond our normal Western rationale, and moreover, does so with such intelligence and yet with such a light touch, is quite an extraordinary feat. The text is profusely illustrated with diagrams and drawings that precisely explain all that is required, and is also littered with hundreds (this I really appreciated) of superbly chosen quotations from all the great minds of history, from all cultures. I do not believe that there exists a better introduction to this deep and wonderful wisdom, and I would gladly give it 9 stars.
"Even after an hour browsing through it, I felt that I had absorbed levels of knowledge, of perception, that were not there previously. This book is about a level of mathematics that, shamefully, is not taught in our educational system. So much for our so-called "progressive' modern culture, that the real pearls have been disregarded in favour of something that has had all knowledge, life and magic stripped away. All spiritual qualities, in fact. What does mathematics and geometry mean to anybody today, other than for the most common-place pedestrian purposes? I did not know, prior to this book, that the Greek "mathema" signifies "learning in general" and was the root of the Old English "mathein", "to be aware" and the Old German "munthen", meaning "to awaken". Today the word "maths" has, for most people, constricted its scope to emphasise mundane measurement and mere manipulation of quantities. ...If you have any interest whatsoever in numbers, mathematics, higher knowledge, or any curiosity whatsoever about why the world is designed the way it is, buy this book. It contains the entire universe!"
Compare online prices here to purchase it inexpensively
Read a Book Review from PARABOLA (Winter 1995)
Read reviews at Amazon UK
Search the web for references to "A Beginner's Guide To Constructing The Universe"
Paperback Errata
LISTEN!
Hear an interview with Michael on the Voice Of America program "Our World" (27 December 2003, 5.4 Mb .mp3 audio file)
Click here to hear a review of "A Beginner's Guide To Constructing The Universe" regarding mathematics education.
Click here to hear a review (podcast or .mp3) by Jeffrey Millburn at Omni Art Salon about using the book for developing awareness.
Click here to learn about these Activity Books
and see their Tables Of Contents.