An Ethnomathematical Perspective on the Question of the Idea of Multiplication and Learning to Multiply: The Languages and Looks Involved

This chapter invites appreciation of the development of an ethnomathematical perspective on the question of the idea of multiplication. The teaching approach described here is grounded on miniprojects that integrate diverse areas of knowledge. It reveals a style of work being performed in the Waldorf Schools of São Paulo, Brazil, where the concept of multiplication is constructed together with the geometry of plane figures through the elaboration of mathematical thinking together with figures mounted on a circular wooden table. The sequence highlights ideas of context connected to the use of cellular phones by the students to introduce the concept of proportionality by taking photos of their bodies and faces, and then using them to study Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.

No Figures in the Landscape: Post-Anthropocentric Typologies of Architectural Settings in Science-Fiction Films

In the ascending age of automation factories, storage facilities, and server farms, intelligent buildings are becoming less dependent on human maintenance. These new and updated architectural forms do not comply with traditional typologies. From the Vitruvian Man to Modulor, our bodies were the measure of most constructions. Yet automation renders new constructions incompatible with patterns of human habitation. This article focuses on the iconography of buildings designed to operate with little to none human interaction, providing an insight into how such settings influenced recent (last decade) science-fiction films like Blade Runner 2049 (dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2017), Captive State (dir. Rupert Wyatt, 2019), I Am Mother (dir. Grant Sputore, 2019), or Transcendence (dir. Wally Pfister, 2014). In each of them, artificial intelligence is an intrinsic composite of the environment, terraforming a post-anthropocentric reality of data centres, automated warehouses and drosscapes.

Old Well Temple·New Academic Garden—A Review of the History of Construction and Sustainable Development of UNC’s Old Well Temple

The Old Well Temple, which represents a kind of humanistic spirit rooted in the 18th century, is a symbol of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Due to the concern and protection of all walks of life for more than 200 years, the Old Well Temple, which is associated with traditional wisdom, is still alive today, inspiring generations of latecomers. As per the context of the current heritage protection, this paper reviews the sustainable processing of the historical and cultural heritage protection project. After analyzing its function and characteristics in the changes of social trends, campus planning and design, and architectural art language, the article believes that the Old Well Temple’s proportion is a combination of the Circle Square & Square Circle Pattern and the Vitruvian Man. It provides a reference for the theory and practice of conservation and sustainable development of the current historical and cultural heritage.

First steps to establishing an equestrian morphology: can Vitruvian ratios help?

Within equestrianism there is increasing focus on rider position and posture, not only in terms of aesthetics and the overall harmonious picture it may portray of the horse-rider combination, but more importantly on the rider’s physical ability to deliver clear, well-timed signals to the horse during training and competitive performance. Anthropometry has been successfully used in a wide range of non-equestrian sports to identify morphologies that are more likely to be successful than others in completing the tasks required by the particular sport or discipline. As physical data have become more readily accessible questions have arisen regarding the rider’s physical ability to achieve and maintain ‘ideal’ and symmetrical riding positions allowing them to transfer their weight and manage their limbs and consequently deliver distinguishable signals to the horse. Clearly identified ideal morphologies exist for a wide range of sports, but there is nothing for equestrianism. Da Vinci’s Vitruvian ‘man’ possesses ideal geometric proportions that depict perfect symmetry and proportion. Within equestrian it is common belief that riders (and horses) should be symmetrical. This study explored how the dimensions of a population of 51 female riders (24.8±8.29 years) aligned with Vitruvian ideals. Ten relative body proportions, selected as potentially the most relevant to horse riding, were obtained for each subject and ratios with total height derived. Only arm span, shoulder width and upper chest to the top of the head in relation to total height aligned with Vitruvian ratios (all P>0.05). Two primary principal components were identified – total height and arm span that could be of potential use for development of an equestrian morphology. Although horse riders’ physical dimensions failed to align well with Vitruvian measures, total height and arm length may have the potential to explain differences in riders’ ability to physically interact with horses and consequently impact their welfare.

Towards the New Paradigm of Existence, Human to Posthuman: Reflections on Subash Chandran’s A Preface to Man.

The term “Posthumanism” is a contemporary theoretical term put forward by researchers with disciplinary backgrounds in philosophy, science and technology and literary studies, for these groups, Posthumanism designates a series of breaks with foundational assumptions of modern Western culture. It claims to offer a new epistemology that is not anthropocentric and therefore not centred in Cartesian dualism. It seeks to undermine the traditional boundaries between the human, the animal, and the technological. The postmodern theorist Ihab Hassan coined the term and offered a seminal definition in an article entitled "Prometheus as Performer: Towards a Posthumanist Culture?". As its name suggests, a defining characteristic of Posthumanism is its rejection of the values held on top by the traditional Western Humanism. In the words of Rosi Braidotti, “From Protagoras’ assertion that it is “the measure of all things”, to Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, the privileging of the human instils a set of “mental, discursive and spiritual values” (13). This notion comes to form the basis for political policies of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe. Man is understood as an “intrinsically moral” being, functioning as a kind of vessel for perfect rationality and reason. Armed with these tools, man is capable of a limitless expansion toward his own perfection, and entitled to claim, as his own, whatever objects or others he encounters along the way. This privileging of man as the centre of everything is what Posthumanism aims to attack. Hassan says that posthuman does not mean the literal end of man but the end of an image of man shaped by Descartes, Thomas More and Erasmus. Braidotti in her book The Posthuman outlines that with the rise of ideologies like Fascism and Communism, Humanism started its ascending in the 1960s and 70s. Both these former ideologies represent a significant break from European Humanism: Fascism promoted a “ruthless” departure from the Enlightenment reverence for human reason, while Communism advocated a “communitarian notion of humanist solidarity” (17).