The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture
Product ID: 8012212
Buy anything from 5,000+ international stores. One checkout price. No surprise fees. Join 2M+ shoppers on Desertcart.
Desertcart purchases this item on your behalf and handles shipping, customs, and support to South Korea.
One of the delights of life is the discovery and rediscovery of patterns of order and beauty in nature—designs revealed by slicing through a head of cabbage or an orange, the forms of shells and butterfly wings. These images are awesome not just for their beauty alone, but because they suggest an order underlying their growth, a harmony existing in nature. What does it mean that such an order exists; how far does it extend? The Power of Limits was inspired by those simple discoveries of harmony. The author went on to investigate and measure hundreds of patterns—ancient and modern, minute and vast. His discovery, vividly illustrated here, is that certain proportions occur over and over again in all these forms. Patterns are also repeated in how things grow and are made—by the dynamic union of opposites—as demonstrated by the spirals that move in opposite directions in the growth of a plant. The joining of unity and diversity in the discipline of proportional limitations creates forms that are beautiful to us because they embody the principles of the cosmic order of which we are a part; conversely, the limitlessness of that order is revealed by the strictness of its forms. The author shows how we, as humans, are included in the universal harmony of form, and suggests that the union of complementary opposites may be a way to extend that harmony to the psychological and social realms as well. Review: Visual presentations of One Over-arching Fact of the Universe - Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal Vibrational Medicine: The #1 Handbook of Subtle-Energy Therapies It is astounding. When I recently perused his book for the first time, my brief initial dogmatic thought was, "this cannot be real." Then I became quickly ecstatic about the greater import of its many graphic presentations. I had already become convinced of the universal connections of everything. I probably gained the ability of unusual insights and visions about that subject, and many others, from my death/near-death experiences very early in life, as well as from long-term diverse and extremely traumatic episodes that resulted into some of the greatest blessings anyone can receive. Some of those blessings are described in the concluding chapter of the book titled, "Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal." During the late sixties Gyorgy and I became close friends while working together on projects in an architect's office in downtown Seattle. He honored me by inviting me to assist him in preparing drawings, etc., for a permanent display at the Pacific Science Center. It was not part of our professional responsibilities but dovetailed with his passionate personal hobby. I do not know if anyone knew during that time how very important Gyorgy's patient research would prove with future developments. It graphically shows everything in the universe is indeed connected with each other. That knowledge must already have been known by ancient individuals and cultures around the world. I do not know if Gyorgy might have been aware to what extent his theme of universal proportions and harmonies might be incorporated in uncountable other themes beyond what he explained in his book. One applicable earthly physical example that is "Vibrational Medicine." That is also the main title of a best-selling book by Richard Gerber, M.D. That medicine was a great part of my recovery from environmental poisoning from a multitude of commonly-used chemicals. Review: Elegant - This beautifully illustrated and diagrammed book attempts to show the harmony that exists in nature and all good art and architecture. Not only that, Doczi attempts to weave into this picture, (with some success) Pythagorean concepts of harmony and it's relation to growth in nature. The essential concept in this book is the 'power of limits.' Doczi shows that this limiting factor is the golden section. And he does it using almost no math! The golden section has the powerful quality that division or expansion by this proportion always leads to harmonious growth. No matter how small or large is the division, there is never anything "left over" to create disharmony. This limiting factor is of transcendental power, thus "The Power of Limits." Unregulated growth could never achieve anything but randomness, which is not what we observe in nature. Of course in nature and in life it is impossible to achieve perfection. Yet Doczi elegantly explains how nature compensates for this inability by using the Fibonnaci sequence instead. Profusely illustrated with many detailed, easy-to-understand diagrams, this book is a must for those who wish to understand more deeply how our world is constructed, without wading through a lot of math.
| Best Sellers Rank | #77,392 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #45 in Math Games #81 in Nature Writing & Essays #188 in Art History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 252 Reviews |
H**N
Visual presentations of One Over-arching Fact of the Universe
Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal Vibrational Medicine: The #1 Handbook of Subtle-Energy Therapies It is astounding. When I recently perused his book for the first time, my brief initial dogmatic thought was, "this cannot be real." Then I became quickly ecstatic about the greater import of its many graphic presentations. I had already become convinced of the universal connections of everything. I probably gained the ability of unusual insights and visions about that subject, and many others, from my death/near-death experiences very early in life, as well as from long-term diverse and extremely traumatic episodes that resulted into some of the greatest blessings anyone can receive. Some of those blessings are described in the concluding chapter of the book titled, "Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal." During the late sixties Gyorgy and I became close friends while working together on projects in an architect's office in downtown Seattle. He honored me by inviting me to assist him in preparing drawings, etc., for a permanent display at the Pacific Science Center. It was not part of our professional responsibilities but dovetailed with his passionate personal hobby. I do not know if anyone knew during that time how very important Gyorgy's patient research would prove with future developments. It graphically shows everything in the universe is indeed connected with each other. That knowledge must already have been known by ancient individuals and cultures around the world. I do not know if Gyorgy might have been aware to what extent his theme of universal proportions and harmonies might be incorporated in uncountable other themes beyond what he explained in his book. One applicable earthly physical example that is "Vibrational Medicine." That is also the main title of a best-selling book by Richard Gerber, M.D. That medicine was a great part of my recovery from environmental poisoning from a multitude of commonly-used chemicals.
K**N
Elegant
This beautifully illustrated and diagrammed book attempts to show the harmony that exists in nature and all good art and architecture. Not only that, Doczi attempts to weave into this picture, (with some success) Pythagorean concepts of harmony and it's relation to growth in nature. The essential concept in this book is the 'power of limits.' Doczi shows that this limiting factor is the golden section. And he does it using almost no math! The golden section has the powerful quality that division or expansion by this proportion always leads to harmonious growth. No matter how small or large is the division, there is never anything "left over" to create disharmony. This limiting factor is of transcendental power, thus "The Power of Limits." Unregulated growth could never achieve anything but randomness, which is not what we observe in nature. Of course in nature and in life it is impossible to achieve perfection. Yet Doczi elegantly explains how nature compensates for this inability by using the Fibonnaci sequence instead. Profusely illustrated with many detailed, easy-to-understand diagrams, this book is a must for those who wish to understand more deeply how our world is constructed, without wading through a lot of math.
E**Y
one of my best books ever
This book is a must for anyone interested in sacred geometry. The text is superb, the illustrations 'illuminating'... fine quality line drawings, with extensive data describing the proportions found in nature. This is my fourth copy of this book, previous copies given as gifts or loaned and not returned. I am delighted to have my BOOK back. I learn from it every time i reread it. Oh, and don't be daunted by the complexity of the measurements; just relax and enjoy the beauty. You will see with your mind's eye the truth of the Power of Limits. ;-) Do buy this book, but if you would like something that explains the intrinsic nature of proportion and number, I suggest Michael S Schneider's book 'A beginners Guide to Constructing the Universe'. I bought my latest copy [my second] right here at Amazon. Michael is an intelligent, focused, enthusiatic teacher [I've attended his seminars & workshops] and his book is chocked full of easily understandable information and illustrations showing, again, the logical beautiful matrix of our wonderful world. There are drawing exercises so you can see the sacred geometry unfold before your very eys; try your hand at drawing nature's beautiful mysteries yourself!
R**K
Vert complex
Written by an architect for similar, very fascinating but quite deep. If you are mathy and love calculus and symmetry, it is for you…..
D**N
Imperdible
Excelente libro. Útil saber el poder de los límites, se aplica en cualquier etapa y decisión que tomes en tu vida
S**D
The all-pervading Golden Section
This book is one among others pointing to the Golden Section as virtually the imgage of God. Everything natural is created in accordance with the Golden Section. Al true art, architecture, music etc. is created in accordance with the Golden Section. There is no exception. This book illustrates and explains it better than any other and ought to be part of every school curriculum, to install a true vision of the natural world and true art in the minds of students.
C**E
Life changing book
In my opinion, this book could not be read too often by too many people in whatever field. It is contemporary wisdom for everyone. That said, it will mostly appeal to artist and architects or anyone who sees associations across multiple fields- the humanities. But its principles apply equally well to economics, psychology, family planning, etc. The general premise being that life is sustained and multiplied by staying within the natural laws that govern that particular thing. It goes counter to most mainstream thinking but is eloquently and beautifully laid out in this book.
K**R
This is the best source I've found
Looking for a comprehensive source to learn more about the Golden Rectangle, a friend loaned me a copy of this book. Of the sources that I examined, The Power of Limits offers the best treatment and explanations of the many examples of Phi in architecture over more than 5,000 years, the application of the proportions in virtually any construct, and the astonishing variety of occurrences in nature. I ordered my own copy. I highly recommend it to the serious researcher and to the casually curious alike.
G**E
Particolarmente curioso
Lo comprato per regalarlo, mi è sembrato curioso e particolare. Me ne sono incuriosito dopo aver letto il libro di Francesco Messina “Ogni tanto passava una nave”
S**N
Awesome book.
nice
J**Z
Altamente interesante
El contenido de este libro es una revelación. Montones de ejemplos, de ideas... Altamente recomendado. _ - - - -
A**R
Incredible book
Such an amazing book, beautiful graphics, deep thoughts on proportions, harmony and life. I loved every bit of it.
S**N
Very good book.
Hello. (La version Fr en dessous) Very good book. A high quality of knowledge forgotten or hidden and unavowable in many disciplines and civilizations. A very good complement of Varin's books (Varin, 2009; 2017) on the Concept of Plasticity in the living world (Human and mammals, insects, plants) with a specific example on plants expert in this field and on global changes. Version Fr: Très bon livre. Un puits de savoirs et de connaissances plus ou moins oubliées, cachées et inavouables que l’on retrouve dans beaucoup de disciplines et civilisations. Un très bon complément des livres de Varin sur le concept de Plasticité dans le monde du vivant avec un exemple spécifique sur les plantes expertes dans ce domaine et sur les changements globaux.
Trustpilot
2 weeks ago
4 days ago