One of the best qualities someone can have is resourcefulness. Even when a problem seems insurmountable with the current set of tools, resourceful peo

Geometry without the tools

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2024-10-28 13:30:03

One of the best qualities someone can have is resourcefulness. Even when a problem seems insurmountable with the current set of tools, resourceful people can find a solution around it. The path to solve the problem might not be as direct and predictable as it would have been with the right knowledge, instruments, emotional conditions. Still, the absence of the perfect tools should rarely stop you.

Geometry is one of those fields that relies heavily on a well-defined set of tools. I still remember how my teacher would threaten to ‘write a note to our parents’ if we forgot the compass or the appropriate ruler. If instead she had told us to be resourceful and find a way around our forgetfulness, those days we might have learnt more than just the Pythagorean Theorem.

Today we will focus on two tasks that would be trivial with the right set of tools, but that end up being more interesting if we slightly modify our toolbox.