A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science Paperback – September 29, 1995

I have bought a number of books on sacred geometry (Quadrivium , The Matrix of Creation , How the World is Made , Sacred Geometry , Patterns of Eternity ) looking for some profound answers but either they were caught up in the proof by mathematics or the sentimental wonder of the lovely symmetry or were showing their own niche discovery .They could all state what was going on but I think they lack the profound understanding of the big picture : the complex unity that is underwritten by the simplicity of parts .Schneider builds it from the base up collecting and connecting the logic of symmetry , philosophy of implication the understanding and wonder at the genius of the simple complexity of ordering and he doesn't confuse by laboring a point.Filled with examples from nature and geometry and history (architecture , iconography and symbolism ) and with succinct philosophical exactitude in text that illuminate ! He showed me in one sentence the significance of Fibonacci sequence .I have wasted a year chasing more pretentious , prettier books that lack the wisdom of this Guy .The text is also spiced with quotes & nuggets of history and sagacious analysis and humor . Brilliant !Also the comments made about the book having a religious overtone are true and a person should be cautions buying this book for a young person who has strong religious instincts or upbringing . The author obviously is Masonic or worse and views (and promotes) mathematics as god itself when it is really only one manifestation of the genius of our world.Still for those interested in history and culture and fundamental insights into how the world is ordered spatially this is an excellent read .

CONSTRUCTING THE UNIVERSE has been on the bookshelf for over a year, and it's really only now that I'm beginning to fully appreciate and process Schneider's masterpiece and its implications - or what could be called an Almanac of Discovery. Although not wanting to write a review until I had finished absorbing it completely, ultimately this work will never date as it's the kind of visual and text based product that provides a continual unfolding of yet deeper and deeper levels of understanding. Its not one of those books that is restricted to a single epiphany or message; I've noticed how it has changed and informed my view of nature's patterns, and geography, on various hiking trips through sacred space.Yet strangely, Schneider's work is also accessible and appealing to my kids, who have wholeheartedly taken up the challenge and tried to build temples with their crazy Dad; applying their maths and geometry lessons with patience as compasses, string and wooden pegs have been variously lost and dropped.I'm not into extremely complex and detailed sacred geometry; so this work is absolutely ideal for my needs; yet don't be fooled into thinking it's simply a beginner's piece either, for it most certainly is not. At 350 odd pages of diagrams, descriptions, tables and references to science, mythology, and ancient texts, CONSTRUCTING THE UNIVERSE provides a rich thematic mathematical and geometric approach to the world we live in. Highly recommended. Rgds

This book is full of gems.It's beautifully written and endlessly fascinating.

Best book ever!!!

The relationship between mathematics and the natural world has been argued about for 100's of years and the philosophy of mathematics has great significance when one looks back through the development of civilization and social structure. If you are interested in looking past the quantitative nature of numbers and discovering the entangled web of basic mathematics and human development then I could not recommend a better book.This book is aimed at the generally inquisitive reader not the mathematics expert, there is little mathematics as we might recall from school. Instead Schneider draws on his considerable knowledge of history to give a whole new ( in fact ancient ) relevance to the numbers 1 to 10. There is nothing difficult in this book, it is written with the objective of enthusing the reader to look further rather than to teach.I have a degree in mathematics and struggled with some of the more esoteric spiritual areas of the book but in general I enjoyed the read. The flow of the text was easy to read and logical and text is backed up by a considerable number diagrams and pictures although the quality of some of the images is lost in the news print quality paper.