Universe in mathmatical shapes

Jul 15

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Plato proposed that the universe could be crystallised into five regular symmetrial shapes, now called Platonic solids .

The tetrahedron(四面体) represented fire;
The icosahedron(二十面体) represented water;
The stable cube(立方体) was Earth;
The eight-faced octahedron(八面体) was air;
The dodecahedron(十二面体), was reserved for the shape which captured Plato’s view of the universe.

Euclid’s Elements proved that there are only five Platonic solids. It captures the power of mathematics, it’s one thing to build five symmetrical solids, quite another to come up with a watertight, logical argument for why there can’t be a sixth!

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