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Re: Secrets of the Great Pyramid (Long)
JOHN LANGDON (LANGDON@GANDLF.UINDY.EDU)
Wed, 1 Nov 1995 11:32:45 -0500
In message <013.03905422.GBHF25A@prodigy.com> MR LUIS G ORDONEZ writes:
> "In the Great Pyramid the Egyptians produced a system of map
> projection even more sophisticated than the one incorporated in the
> ziggurats.
etc.
How do you know they were intended as map (or even spherical) projections?
Don't all your geometric descriptions boil down to claiming that the diagonal of
the pyramid equals 2 times the height? Anybody can make a length 2 times
another. You don't need to know the value of pi or the square root of 2 or even
how to make a 51 degree angle. Why make a pyramid those dimensions? They may
have been aesthetically pleasing and are easily replicable.
By the way, before you get into a discussion of the accuracy of pi, remember
that the actual dimensions of the pyramids are uncertain, since the limestone
cap that covered them has been mostly stolen for later building projects and
what is left is badly eroded by blowing sand.
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