The canonical text on geometry, Euclid’s Elements, introduced the axiomatic method that has defined mathematics ever since. Geometry means measure of the earth, yet philosophers have long seen it as a key to sacred transcendent realms. Plato identified the perfect polyhedra with the physical elements, and while the precise details of his scheme were wrong, his use of mathematics to explain hidden orders of reality was wonderfully prescient, his intuition that substance consists essentially of pure form has been thoroughly vindicated and some of the things his theory predicted – such as the transmutation of elements – have since been verified. Of course he know nothing of protons or electrons, but his geometrical explanation suggested the very possibilities of dissolution and reformation that have since been observed in atomic nuclei.
The spirit of Plato and Pythagoras has been beautifully captured by geometer Sama Mara in his audiovisual collaboration A Hidden Order. This video was inspired by Sama and features the spacious sounds of Noodreem.