Article ID: CBB251198802

Let the Diagram Speak: Compass Arcs and Visual Auxiliaries in Printed Diagrams of Euclid’s Elements (2018)

unapi

The printed Elements in the sixteenth century presented more practical and functional diagrams than those of previous manuscripts. Whereas conventional diagrams were limited to implementing the description of the text, the new diagrams introduced more concise constructions and visual auxiliaries. This change toward more practical and functional diagrams reflects the increased emphasis on the pedagogical value of the diagram. As is evident from the compass arcs upon the diagram, readers of the Elements were invited to draw their own diagrams, deviating from tradition and also from the text. Also, the increased visual auxiliaries such as correspondence markers, dotted lines, and stereoscopic presentations enabled the reader to read diagrams more easily. This backdrop of increased engagement with the diagram made it easier for mathematical novices (tyrones) to learn the Elements. These tool-based and auxiliaries-laden diagrams were more effective for teaching beginners than the earlier, less-functional diagrams. This paper explores the function of these new visual vocabularies and how they were circulated. This survey comprises a brief history of how diagrams began to have their say.

...More
Included in

Article Greg Priest; Silvia De Toffoli; Paula Findlen (2018) Tools of Reason: The Practice of Scientific Diagramming from Antiquity to the Present. Endeavour: Review of the Progress of Science (pp. 49-59). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB251198802/

Similar Citations

Article Melissa Lo; (2017)
The Picture Multiple: Figuring, Thinking, and Knowing in Descartes's Essais (1637) (/isis/citation/CBB074990525/)

Article Raynaud, Dominique; (2014)
Building the Stemma Codicum from Geometric Diagrams (/isis/citation/CBB001321046/)

Book Greaves, Mark; (2002)
The Philosophical Status of Diagrams (/isis/citation/CBB000502562/)

Article Maanen, Jan van; (2006)
Diagrams and Mathematical Reasoning: Some Points, Lines, and Figures (/isis/citation/CBB000850085/)

Article Jens Lemanski; (2017)
Periods in the Use of Euler-Type Diagrams (/isis/citation/CBB440930043/)

Article Angela Axworthy; (2018)
The Debate Between Peletier and Clavius on Superposition (/isis/citation/CBB651102776/)

Article Mertens, Manuel; (2014)
Memory and Geometry in Bruno: Some Analogies (/isis/citation/CBB001201187/)

Article Camerota, Filippo; (2006)
Teaching Euclid in a Practical Context: Linear Perspective and Practical Geometry (/isis/citation/CBB000671073/)

Article Virginia Iommi Echeverría; (2016)
Copernicus and the Problem of Elemental Proportion in Renaissance Cosmology (/isis/citation/CBB912586648/)

Article Johnston, Stephen; (2012)
John Dee on Geometry: Texts, Teaching and the Euclidean Tradition (/isis/citation/CBB001251143/)

Article Le Meur, Guy; (2012)
Le rôle des diagrammes dans quelques traités de la Petite astronomie (/isis/citation/CBB001211449/)

Authors & Contributors
Jens Lemanski
Lo, Melissa
Saito, Ken
Raynaud, Dominique
Mertens, Manuel
Mersch, Dieter
Concepts
Geometry
Mathematics
Diagrams
Visual representation; visual communication
Astronomy
Transmission of texts
Time Periods
16th century
17th century
Renaissance
18th century
15th century
11th century
Places
Italy
France
England
Netherlands
Greece
Europe
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment