Pity poor geometry or, for that matter, you can pity mathematics
in general as people have a tendency to dismiss these subjects because
they have too literally an opinion of it. They assume math is a concept
that begins and ends in a classroom. Of course you have probably heard
the words "Why do I need to study math when I never use it?" and one
of the most maligned subcategories of learning math is learning triangle
geometry. Right triangles. Obtuse triangles. Dissecting triangles.
When do you ever use this stuff? Well, you use it all the time but
often don't notice it and when you develop a deeper understanding
of triangles a tremendous wealth of information opens to you.
In fact, the depth of the value of triangle often extends to areas
most people would never even dream of. For example, did you know that
triangles form the basis of a number of martial arts? Ok, that statement
probably got your attention so let's explain it. In the Indonesian
martial art of Silat (Silat means fighting) the art is based around
impacting an opponent of the weakness of the triangular base the body
uses to stand. When you disrupt the triangle at a weak point, it becomes
difficult to stand up! So, this is an entire martial art based around
triangles and it is a lot easier on the body than breaking boards
like in karate!
If the above example shows anything it would be the fact that triangles
play a far greater role than most people think. This is why triangles
have long since been studied by cultures and civilizations. If one
looks at ancient history it becomes clear that the Ancient Egyptians
and the Greeks spent a great deal of time learning the sophisticated
aspects of the geometry of the triangle because it was the basis of
much of their engineering and science. These ancient cultures realized
that triangles possessed a great deal of value that was transferable
to a number of other disciplines.
There simply is an incredibly vast amount of information that we
have derived from the study of the triangle and, quite honestly, even
after many thousands of years of study there is still more to learn
from the study of the triangle. In fact, it is often through the study
of the triangle in particular that much is revealed about the rest
of the realm of geometry.
In studying the geometry of triangles a great many professional careers
open to you. There are a great many careers that require a solid foundation
in geometric skills and developing a high level of skill in this area
will make your ability to succeed in these careers far more likely.
Now, some careers are fairly obvious such as engineering but there
are those careers that are not so obvious such as figure skating.
Yes, if you look at it closely many movements in figure skating involve
dissecting the angles of a triangle.
There really is no limit to the information and applications found
within understanding a triangle. This is why a clear understanding
of the basic concepts is critical. No, you do not have to take a college
level course in geometry in order to be a figure skater and you wouldn't
need a high level of geometric skill to perform a number of skills
based on principles found in the geometry of a triangle. However,
if you have an understanding of the basic concepts of triangle you
will have a much clearer understanding of those principles than someone
who lacks an understanding of the concepts.