Visconti Divina Proportions LE-review

[yachtsilverswan]

What is that caliper contraption thing? What is it used for?

 

It's part of the LE presentation for the Divina Proporzione.

 

The pen was designed on the theme of Phi, the golden ratio of 1.618 (not Pi = 3.14...). Phi occurs with startling frequency in nature, and seems to be encoded in evolutionary biology. Phi also seems to be part of how humans subjectively interpret beauty.

 

So the caliper is an adjustable Phi ratio, set to demonstrate that the ratio of the cap to the barrel in the DP is equal to Phi.

 

You can also use the caliper to amuse and annoy your friends by objectively measuring their adherence to Phi standards of beauty.

 

Oh, that's what the caliper is for? It's pretty interesting!

 

... This Phi thing, which I'm not sure I believe in is really that related to beauty brings this up for me.

 

So supposedly somebody or some group of people "discover" (I would actually use he word "conceptualise" as it is bringing into being something) this Phi thing and now they turn it around to "objectively" measure people's "adherence" to beauty? It's supposed to be the other way around. The idea was trying to quantify beauty and using whatever people found beautiful and figure out if they could define it right? It's not as if the definition of Phi is the standard of beauty.

 

...I think perhaps the Phi thing is more of something that was taught in European classical arts and probably not as applicable to arts in other parts of the world?

 

Evening Thibaulthalpern - well you are as thorough and insightful as usual in your comment. My quick post was perhaps too glib.

 

While it makes me shiver to find truth in anything written by anyone with the name Michael Jackson, this Dr. Jackson is correct that chemistry, physics, math, and even philosophy are all based on gross oversimplifications of the world we see around us. Our minds are not yet capable of understanding the infinite variables of the natural world. And so we create artificial models that take what we suspect are the core elements of a natural system - and we develop a science around those models - chemistry, physics, math. We test our models to see how closely our models describe and predict natural observations. And if our models survive experimental testing, we say there is some truth in them. If our models fail, we try again.

 

The Golden Ratio was described by DaVinci in his illustrations for Pacioli's "On the Divine Proportion," though much older descriptions date back to Euclid. Many DaVinci scholars speculate that DaVinci was exploring geometric ratios as they relate to the human perception of beauty, and was using these thoughts to improve his paintings and sculptures. "Vitruvian Man" is a well known DaVinci drawing exploring the ratios and proportions of a classically beautiful human form - Visconti used "Vitruvian Man" on the brochure for the DP. Some speculate that Davinci's "Mona Lisa" evokes such strong feelings because the "Mona Lisa" is painted to Davinci's strictest standards of geometric Phi proportions.

 

Though DaVinci left few notes on the thoughts behind his paintings, most suspect that he began measuring certain geometric ratios on models he personally found "beautiful," and then when comparing those measurements DaVinci began to discern a pattern of commonality. In other words, experimental observation led to the discernment of the ratio. The ratio was not first mathematically "discovered" and then applied to create artistic beauty. That said, there is a simple mathematical derivation of Phi posted on Wickipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio#Calculation.

 

Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons have long known that almost perfect symmetry is critically important in our perception of beauty in the human form. They have long known that relative proportion is also important. I read an article a couple of years ago by a plastic surgeon who used Phi in planning facial reconstructions and aesthetic procedures.

 

In nature, the Golden Ratio has been observed in the ratio of tree branchings, arterial blood vessel branching ratios, skeletal proportions across many phyla, and in the spiraling sizes of invertebrate shells (like the Nautilus). The wide range of observations leads some evolutionary biologists to suspect that Phi is encoded in the most ancient parts of our DNA, giving rise to a commonality of structure and proportion in many forms of multicellular life.

 

I just think it's cool.

Edited November 14, 2008 by yachtsilverswan

[thibaulthalpern]

Thanks for the details, Yachtsilverswan. Good to know.

 

Yeah...Jackson's name is a bit unfortunate. On the other hand, he is older and of another generation than the other Michael Jackson so I guess his parents didn't regret naming their son Michael Jackson until, well, after that other Jackson became famous.

[MYU]

Fascinating stuff, Ray. I wonder if that Phi ratio is somewhat akin to a "unifying" theory.

 

In trying to understand the world around us, we look for reasons to explain what we observe and experience. There appears to be a purpose for everything--it's just a matter of looking hard enough (with an open enough perspective) to find it. Why do we find something beautiful? In biological manifestations, symmetry appears to be a sign of genetic perfection and health. So it makes sense that we've be attracted to it. However, the curious thing about human beings is that we're capable of outright deception... we can mimic that purity in a variety of ways, such as with cosmetics, grooming, and corrective surgery.

 

Anyway, it would be really cool to see the Phi ratio have some kind of connection with the much desired unified theory, if we ever discover one.

[goodguy]

Guys guys this is a pen forum.Lets talk about pen :roflmho:

[thibaulthalpern]

I'm not sure there is necessarily a purpose for everything. That's a belief that some human beings like to hold on to. We could try to let it go some times. By thinking there is a purpose in everything we ignore happenstance, chaos, and the uncanny.

[thibaulthalpern]

Guys guys this is a pen forum.Lets talk about pen :roflmho:

 

You're right

[yachtsilverswan]

Fascinating stuff, Ray. I wonder if that Phi ratio is somewhat akin to a "unifying" theory.

 

In trying to understand the world around us, we look for reasons to explain what we observe and experience. There appears to be a purpose for everything--it's just a matter of looking hard enough (with an open enough perspective) to find it. Why do we find something beautiful? In biological manifestations, symmetry appears to be a sign of genetic perfection and health. So it makes sense that we've be attracted to it. However, the curious thing about human beings is that we're capable of outright deception... we can mimic that purity in a variety of ways, such as with cosmetics, grooming, and corrective surgery.

 

Anyway, it would be really cool to see the Phi ratio have some kind of connection with the much desired unified theory, if we ever discover one.

 

It's just wicked cool to me - and there are many more "wow" moments surrounding Phi.

 

For example, the Fibonacci Sequence is a series of positive integers where the sum of the two preceding numbers equals the third number:

 

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987...

 

The ratios of the early numbers to their immediate predecessor roughly approximates Phi. Phi is an irrational never ending number: Phi = [1 + (Square Root of 5)] / 2 = 1.6180339887... :

 

13/8 = 1.625

 

What's spooky cool is that as the sequence progresses, the ratios of higher and higher numbers asymptotically approach Phi more and more accurately:

 

34/21 = 1.619048

987/ 610 = 1.618032

 

Shapes in nature can also be described by the Fibonacci Sequence. The spiraling curve of a Nautilus Shell is precisely replicated by tangent curves inscribed inside squares of progressive Fibonacci size: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio#...onacci_sequence

 

The Fibonacci Sequence is engraved on the filling plunger of the Visconti Divina Proporzione. And the spiraling five sided barrel and cap refer to Phi's relationship to the Fibonacci Sequence and the natural spirals it describes.

 

******

 

Of course, all things mystical and cool have to eventually involve the Egyptian Pyramids. in 1859, John Taylor argued in his book, "The Great Pyramid", that the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza was built to Phi proportions. The length of the face slope (186.4 meters) divided by half the length of the side of the square base (115.2 meters) yields Phi to an accuracy beyond the significant figures of the original measurements. This appears to be correct despite our current belief that the ancient Egyptians' mathematics would not have been able to conceptualize irrational (never-ending) numbers like Phi. We currently believe their knowledge of geometry would have only allowed them to build a 3x4x5 ratio pyramid, not one to Phi proportions.

 

(cue mystical spooky music)

Edited November 14, 2008 by yachtsilverswan

[yachtsilverswan]

Guys guys this is a pen forum.Lets talk about pen :roflmho:

 

 

But Amir - this is the design concept of your new pen. These are the concepts your pen pays homage to.

 

Ok, ok, I can take a hint. No more math. Cross my heart.

[goodguy]

Guys guys this is a pen forum.Lets talk about pen :roflmho:

 

 

But Amir - this is the design concept of your new pen. These are the concepts your pen pays homage to.

 

Ok, ok, I can take a hint. No more math. Cross my heart.

I was just kidding its ok .

There is something pure about math.

I believe there is something very spiritual about this number but I dont know why.It looks to me like some higher being has decided to give this a unique and special meaning in so many places in life.

 

Never the less this is a pen and I tend to les focus on the pen theme and rather focus at the pen itself.

[Karin]

That is soooooo cool. Thanks so much for the extremely interesting explanation of the Fibonacci sequence and "Divine Geometry" I could only afford the midi Black Divina...but it is a beautiful pen and a reminder of the woo woo nature of the world.

 

Oh yes, nice pen Amir :roflmho:

[Titivillus]

this Dr. Jackson is correct that chemistry, physics, math, and even philosophy are all based on gross oversimplifications of the world we see around us. Our minds are not yet capable of understanding the infinite variables of the natural world. And so we create artificial models that take what we suspect are the core elements of a natural system - and we develop a science around those models - chemistry, physics, math. We test our models to see how closely our models describe and predict natural observations. And if our models survive experimental testing, we say there is some truth in them. If our models fail, we try again.

 

That's a bit of an oversimplification as well We do not create models to just prove nature but to go beyond what nature is.

 

[fsalz]

Goodguy:

 

Great review. I'm a math (Calculus) teacher and I just had to have one of these myself. As stated, it's probably one of, if not the smoothest writing pen I have.

 

Just a note of a slight concern I have with it - as I was carrying and using it for a few days, one of the silver inlays would easily lift up slightly at the end of the cap, and it was then prone to continue to lift out of the channel it was in. You may see that the inlays protrude slightly from the ends. If this is so, just be careful it doesn't get caught on anything (like a shirt pocked) where it might come out or get bent. Maybe I can put an extra dab of very fine glue in the channel.

 

Enjoy the pen!!

 

 

[scogre]

Nice review Amir! I'll have to look at the pictures at home tonight, as my work filters out nasty things like pictures!

 

It will still be a week or two before I get mine. In the meantime I have been fondling my Divina Maxi a lot more than usual!

 

I never thought I would be able to afford one of these masterpieces! But the prices out there right now, supposedly to sell of the remaining stock of these pens, are just too good to ignore. If you've been admiring these pens but didn't think you could afford them, check again!

 

Scott.

[goodguy]

Nice review Amir! I'll have to look at the pictures at home tonight, as my work filters out nasty things like pictures!

 

It will still be a week or two before I get mine. In the meantime I have been fondling my Divina Maxi a lot more than usual!

 

I never thought I would be able to afford one of these masterpieces! But the prices out there right now, supposedly to sell of the remaining stock of these pens, are just too good to ignore. If you've been admiring these pens but didn't think you could afford them, check again!

 

Scott.

Thanks Scott

[goodguy]

So goodguy, if you had to choose just one, would it be the beloved M-149 or the Visconti?

Cant answer that.My feeling is that the 149 is more durable.

It is also much ligher and probably holds more ink.It is not half as pretty as the DP but it is much classier.

Each has its charm but the queen still remains my 149.

[Ghost Plane]

Hmmm. I love that Amir loves it. Kitty looks pretty pleased too. But somehow this pen doesn't correspond to my own internal concept of beauty. I got a chance to hold both one of these and the black version [thanks, Ken!], but they just don't do it for me.

 

I'll just fondle my Romanicas and wait for some other pen comes along to tempt me/us.

[SMG]

Ghost Plane, please do not use the word fondle here on the board.

 

 

 

It might be more than I can handle.

 

 

Cheers,

Sean

[Ghost Plane]

Sorry about the pen porn. It was the excitement of holding a big, smooth, broad nibbed, lusciously wet instrument in my hand and contemplating the use to which it could be put. Seems to get me every time.

[SMG]

OMG.

 

I'm driving stop doing that.

[Ghost Plane]

:ltcapd: :roflmho: