Geometry is literally everywhere, but many people do not recognize
geometric shapes even when they are commonplace. If you were to ask
people to close their eyes and imagine geometric shapes the images
that come to their mind will probably be something along the lines
of the various illustrations found in geometry textbooks. While this
would not be an inaccurate image it is a limited one. Geometric shapes
often do not look in real life exactly like what they appear in the
textbooks. They are, however, there and if you stop and pay attention
you will be surprised at the sheer volume of them that are there.
For example, riding in a car will bring you in contact with a ton
of geometric shapes. When you are in car riding down the street you
come across a number of geometric shapes. In fact, geometry plays
a significant role in maintaining traffic safety. A stop sign is critical
to preventing cars from hitting one another when they come to a corner.
Upon closer examination, you can see a stop sign is simply a hexagon
colored white and red with the bold proclamation of the word STOP
imprinted on it. While stop signs are clearly noticeable traffic lights
may be a little trickier to decipher as stop lights combine geometric
shapes. The red, yellow and green lights are, of course, circles and
they are encased either horizontally or vertically in what is obviously
a rectangle. Oh, and by the way, those wheels on the car are circles
too!
Now, if you look out the window of the car you will see a lot of
buildings. Rectangles and squares are pretty difficult to avoid if
you are looking at real estate. Homes and skyscrapers and buildings
are collectives of squares and rectangles even pentagonal shapes.
Of course, within these structures are a number of angles that create
various triangle shapes. Some of the roofs on people's homes are triangular
in shape and you probably have noticed that a doorway is commonly
a rectangle.
Then again, you don't have to wonder outside your own home to see
geometric shapes. Your own room is made up of geometric shapes. The
ceiling and the floor are often obviously squares or rectangles or
similar structures. If you look at the corners of your room you will
probably notice the triangle created out of the angles these corners
make. The truly astute among you probably also notice that the crease
in the corners is obviously a straight line. Yes, geometric shapes
are pretty much everywhere!
Yes, you can often recognize that virtually every object in the world
is a geometric shape but we sometimes do not realize how it is next
to impossible not to see geometric shapes. So why is it people seem
somewhat surprised when this is pointed out to them? While people
can often recognize shapes they have a tendency to not make the clear
correlation. After all, no one while walk up and down the aisles of
a grocery store and say "Oh look! Cereal boxes look like rectangles!"
But you can play a game designed to increase your awareness
If you really want to understand just how vast a role geometry makes
in everyday life there is a fun little game that you can play. Simply
look around a room (your room at home, your classroom, the interior
of a common store) and write down the various items you see and the
corresponding geometric shape associated with them. An example would
be "Clock = Circle." When you undergo this little exercise it will
become somewhat surprising how just how many geometric shapes are
present that you may have not otherwise realized before.