7 ms·

There used to be two forms of letter s, long s when medial and short s when final, similar to the two forms of sigma in later Greek. The integral sign derived f

There used to be two forms of letter s, long s when medial and short s when final, similar to the two forms of sigma in later Greek. The integral sign derived from this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_s

gota 3y ago
Ok, but why choose the outdated one for this? Or is it a mistake?
- itishappy 3y ago
  It's an old book: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Title_page_of_Sir_Henry_Billingsley%27s_first_English_version_of_Euclid%27s_Elements%2C_1570_%28560x900%29.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Title_pa...
  - gota 3y ago
    I know it's an old book. I have several copies in multiple languages a couple of meters from where I'm sitting. None of them have colored designs or interactive elements, so I really struggle to understand your point
    - steppi 3y ago
      Oliver Byrne’s 1847 edition of the elements did have colored designs [0]. This website features a digitization of Byrne’s book and defaults to the text as it appears in the original. [0] https://maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasures-oliver-byrnes-euclid https://maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-t...
    - itishappy 3y ago
      > None of them have colored designs or interactive elements Euclid didn't include interactivity? Seems like a bit of an oversight. Anyway, that wasn't the question. Check out the S's on that cover.
- aragonite 3y ago
  It's a reproduction of Oliver Byrne's 1847 edition, which uses the long s. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:First_six_books_of_the_elements_of_Euclid_1847_Byrne.djvu&page=82 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:First_six_bo...
  - gota 3y ago
    Seems like a weird choice to make it colored, interactive etc. - presumably to maximize accessibility/digestibility by laymen - and then adopt an outdated typography choice for coherence with a 180 year old edition
    - itishappy 3y ago
      The colors and the weird s were both from the 180 year old version. The interactivity is new. Here's the author's thoughts: > Creating a faithful online reproduction of a book considered one of the most beautiful and unusual publications ever published is a daunting task. Byrne’s Euclid is my tribute to Oliver Byrne’s most celebrated publication from 1847 that illustrated the geometric principles established in Euclid’s original Elements from 300 BC. > The long s (ſ) was common in older publications and is used throughout the book. Even though it’s commonly mistaken for the lowercase f, I felt reproducing it was also important to stay true to the original. > I wanted to add interactivity to the diagrams to aid in understanding them because I had some trouble understanding some in the original book. Here's lots more thoughts: https://www.c82.net/blog/?id=79 https://www.c82.net/blog/?id=79

gota 3y ago

Ok, but why choose the outdated one for this? Or is it a mistake?

itishappy 3y ago
It's an old book: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Title_page_of_Sir_Henry_Billingsley%27s_first_English_version_of_Euclid%27s_Elements%2C_1570_%28560x900%29.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Title_pa...
- gota 3y ago
  I know it's an old book. I have several copies in multiple languages a couple of meters from where I'm sitting. None of them have colored designs or interactive elements, so I really struggle to understand your point
  - steppi 3y ago
    Oliver Byrne’s 1847 edition of the elements did have colored designs [0]. This website features a digitization of Byrne’s book and defaults to the text as it appears in the original. [0] https://maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-treasures-oliver-byrnes-euclid https://maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/mathematical-t...
  - itishappy 3y ago
    > None of them have colored designs or interactive elements Euclid didn't include interactivity? Seems like a bit of an oversight. Anyway, that wasn't the question. Check out the S's on that cover.
aragonite 3y ago
It's a reproduction of Oliver Byrne's 1847 edition, which uses the long s. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:First_six_books_of_the_elements_of_Euclid_1847_Byrne.djvu&page=82 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:First_six_bo...
- gota 3y ago
  Seems like a weird choice to make it colored, interactive etc. - presumably to maximize accessibility/digestibility by laymen - and then adopt an outdated typography choice for coherence with a 180 year old edition
  - itishappy 3y ago
    The colors and the weird s were both from the 180 year old version. The interactivity is new. Here's the author's thoughts: > Creating a faithful online reproduction of a book considered one of the most beautiful and unusual publications ever published is a daunting task. Byrne’s Euclid is my tribute to Oliver Byrne’s most celebrated publication from 1847 that illustrated the geometric principles established in Euclid’s original Elements from 300 BC. > The long s (ſ) was common in older publications and is used throughout the book. Even though it’s commonly mistaken for the lowercase f, I felt reproducing it was also important to stay true to the original. > I wanted to add interactivity to the diagrams to aid in understanding them because I had some trouble understanding some in the original book. Here's lots more thoughts: https://www.c82.net/blog/?id=79 https://www.c82.net/blog/?id=79