Comenius Project-essay

Golden section… I haven’t known anything about it till now. (I don’t know if it is taught at school at all, but I have just begun the ninth class, and I don’t have practice in mathematics in higher level.) Actually, my first impression was that it’s about the processing of the golden, as a material. But when I heard that the project has different departments associated, as mathematics, biology, informatics and history of arts, I realized that the golden section is a completely different thing.

Searching the internet, I found out, that the golden section as a proportion (and a fact) is an important basic thing of our life. Then I started to wonder: ’How could it be, that I’m such an ignorant in this topic.’ Because it’s a fantastic thing, that a mathematical expression can influence our life in this form. Its presence can be shown in nature, and human body. And when the scientists in ancient times found out about the importance of this proportion they started to work with it. They built houses, created sculptures, painted using the proportion. And the result was fantastic, because those buildings (for example the pyramids in Giza), paintings and sculptures offered and offer an extraordinary effect. (I always wonder how they could know those things… Modern people established only thousand years later, with the help of modern technology, that their statements are true.) The proportion had also an influence in the development of modern technology (starting with the Fibonacci-sequence).

So there are many interesting facts in the whole world which are in connection with the golden ratio. And it could be, that we haven’t found out yet all of its meanings, all of its importance and influence.

I think it was a very good idea that this combined project was separated in more departments and will be continued in different countries. It’s instructive for every student to travel in those cities and near the official program, to get knowledge about the nation’s important art relics, too. I haven’t been before in Poland, Bulgaria, and Turkey. I know, that these countries hide interesting and fantastic things. Poland, the central-european country, with important influence in history. Bulgaria, our neighbour country, near the Black Sea...the country with a varied relief and beautiful landscapes. Turkey, an important tourist centre in our days, with a fantastic seaside. This nation left its mark on Europe’s history. Near the bad things, which our nations had to suffer, they have the marks of the turkish culture here, too. Finally, Hungary is the best-known country by me, I had been there many times before and I travelled a lot there. I like it very much and I return to Hungary every time with pleasure.

I think this project can be a very decisive thing in those students’ life, who will get the occasion to participate. It’s a kind of multi-cultural event, because it won’t only be the meeting of mathematicians’ or art admireres. There will be a lot of coloured personalities and it will be instructive to talk to them about serious things.

If I get the chance, I would be happy to hear special presentations about the golden section, because for me it seems to be a really interesting kind of thing. I would like to talk to other people, to see, what they think about it. And I would be pleased to try somehow to work with it and get a visible result.

Golden section....I haven’t heard anything about that before, but I hope after this I will hear more and more.

Kiss Anna, IX.H class