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The nice thing about geometry (as opposed to arithmetic) is that it's easy to guess something a little larger[0] than 1/10, repeat a series of ten of those unit

The nice thing about geometry (as opposed to arithmetic) is that it's easy to guess something a little larger[0] than 1/10, repeat a series of ten of those units, and then line its end points up at an angle to your work and, letting similar triangles do their thing, transfer[1] from there... [0] eg, 1/8 would work, if you insist on subdivisions [1] assuming space-time is effectively euclidean at the scale you're doing this, which even on HN ought to be a safe bet?

kragen 2y ago
this presupposes a way to construct parallel lines to transfer your tenths back to the segment you wanted to subdivide; this can certainly be done to three significant figures of precision with a compass and straightedge (or string and sand table), but it's still extra effort and extra opportunities for error compared to simple perpendicular bisectors in some cases, it's not extra effort because you're doing a task that requires the construction of those parallel lines anyway, of course. laying out tiles on a floor or ripping a plank into smaller planks, for example. and if your desired parallel lines are perpendicular to the edge of your stela, the square that figures so prominently in the freemasons' logotype allows you to scribe them easily (then again, once you're going to the effort of making a square, you might as well rule it)