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June 19, 2020

#2322: ISO Paper Size Golden Spiral

ISO Paper Size Golden Spiral

[Caption inside panel:]

The golden ratio is everywhere!

[Picture of the ISO standard paper sizes (i.e. A1, A2, etc.) placed so that they fit together perfectly, overlaid with a spiral resembling that of the golden ratio]

[A rectangle in landscape orientation with width= heightsqrt(2) is divided into two halves by a vertical line. The left half, a rectangle in portrait orientation, with height=widthsqrt(2), is labeled “A1”. The right half (also portrait) is divided into two halves by a horizontal line; the rectangle above this horizontal line (landscape) is labeled “A2”. Below this horizontal line there is a landscape rectangle which is divided into two portrait rectangles by a vertical line. The right half is labeled “A3”, the left half is divided into two halves by a horizontal line. The lower half is labeled “A4”, the upper half is divided again, with its left half labeled “A5”. The series continues like this until “A10”. ]

[Symbolically: A1 -right,up- A2 -down,right- A3 -left,down- A4 -up,left- A5 -right,up- A6 -down,right- A7 -left,down- A8 -up,left- A9 -right,up- A10.]

[A red spiral starts at the lower left corner of A1, passes through the upper right corner of A1 which is also the upper left corner of A2, continues through the upper right corner of A3, lower right of A4, lower left of A5, etc, and after passing through the lower right corner of A10 continues to what would be the lower left corner of A11 and the upper right corner of A12.]

[Caption below panel:]

How to annoy both graphic designers and mathematicians