Tan Laya multimedia producer and creative director now focused on LOVE ARTIFICIAL, a pr

EUCLID'S ELEMENTS : BOOK REVIEW (But Not Really)

24 Jan 2023 · 3 min

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3:06

In this video, the creator, who runs a channel about personal interests, presents a brief book review of Euclid's Elements, focusing exclusively on its very first definition—the definition of a point. He introduces the antique 1897 copy of the work, noting his hobby of collecting antique books and promising future reviews of other favorites. He highlights the historical depth of Euclid's treatise, written over two millennia ago and based on even older theorems. The core of the review is the definition of a point, presented in two translations: the classic "a point is that of which there is no part" and the John McKay rendering, "a point is that which has position but no magnitude." The speaker reflects on how contemplating this simple, foundational concept has been both enjoyable and surprisingly applicable to many aspects of life, suggesting a philosophical resonance beyond geometry.

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All right, this channel is me talking about things I like, and one of the things I like is book reviews. And today's book review is of Euclid's Elements. It's a collection of propositions on geometry, and the first thing I marvel at is the fact that it was written over 2,000 years ago based on even earlier theorems from over 2,500 years ago. This is a very special copy to me. It's a— it's an antique. It's from 1897. I collect antique books and I'm going to be reviewing some of my favorites in the coming weeks. Anyway, this review of Euclid's Elements might be slightly unusual in that I'm only going to be discussing one concept from the book. And when I say discussing, I mean really just repeating because there is no discussion necessary, as you will see. So this one concept that I'm going to be discussing Is the very first concept, the very first thing that's in the book. It's the very first statement, and that statement is a definition of the word point. And here is that definition: a point is that of which there is no part. An alternative translation. From the original Greek, the one that's actually in this book, the John McKay version, and that translation is: A point is that which has position but no magnitude. That's it. That's the very first thing in the book, and to me. It's the very first thing. Understanding, or trying to understand, that concept has been one of the most fun and rewarding activities that I've spent my time on, and I've seemingly been able to apply it to everything in life.