After reading this article I'm not sure what I think in regards to the purpose of the light in the Pantheon. In my opinion, the ancients had their own reasoning for building things as they did and because our thought patterns, and experiences are different than theirs, our perceptions about why they may have built things as they did will always be nothing more than speculation, even if the speculation seems to make sense from our perspective.
I don't think that we can ever be 100% certain about why something like the Pantheon was constructed. We like to read meaning into things but we don't know what, if anything, the creator meant to convey. A good example of this is in literature. People spend lots of time talking about symbolism in books but the author might have just put that element in because he liked it. That doesn't mean that it doesn't symbolize something but the author might not have meant for it to. Similarly, we can come up with all sorts of possible explanations for the construction of the Pantheon. Each of these might be a valid use but the designer could have just designed it that way because he thought it would look nice.
Reading the description of the pantheon actually reminds me of the pinhole cameras we used just a short time ago! The oculus at the top of the pantheon lets the light from outside in just like the pinhole on the camera lets light into the paint can. Instead of taking pictures though, the light in the pantheon has a different purpose. It can be used to tell the time of year. If it could be used on the equinox, it certainly would be a sight to see.
Yes, Grace, the oculus of the pantheon does let light from the outside inside, but the physical nature of the oculus itself works very differently than the pinhole camera. The pinhole camera was diffraction limited, as I showed in my proof a couple of weeks ago. The oculus does NOT have interference effects and therefore does not have bright spots and dark spots.
Here again light is used to create some sort of knowledge for the rulers that dwelled within the Pantheon. The article delves into the different types of things the light may have signified that historians all fight over, but the importance is its consistency with the reoccurring theme of light being a source of knowledge for all.
After reading this article I'm not sure what I think in regards to the purpose of the light in the Pantheon. In my opinion, the ancients had their own reasoning for building things as they did and because our thought patterns, and experiences are different than theirs, our perceptions about why they may have built things as they did will always be nothing more than speculation, even if the speculation seems to make sense from our perspective.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that we can ever be 100% certain about why something like the Pantheon was constructed. We like to read meaning into things but we don't know what, if anything, the creator meant to convey. A good example of this is in literature. People spend lots of time talking about symbolism in books but the author might have just put that element in because he liked it. That doesn't mean that it doesn't symbolize something but the author might not have meant for it to. Similarly, we can come up with all sorts of possible explanations for the construction of the Pantheon. Each of these might be a valid use but the designer could have just designed it that way because he thought it would look nice.
ReplyDeleteReading the description of the pantheon actually reminds me of the pinhole cameras we used just a short time ago! The oculus at the top of the pantheon lets the light from outside in just like the pinhole on the camera lets light into the paint can. Instead of taking pictures though, the light in the pantheon has a different purpose. It can be used to tell the time of year. If it could be used on the equinox, it certainly would be a sight to see.
ReplyDeleteYes, Grace, the oculus of the pantheon does let light from the outside inside, but the physical nature of the oculus itself works very differently than the pinhole camera. The pinhole camera was diffraction limited, as I showed in my proof a couple of weeks ago. The oculus does NOT have interference effects and therefore does not have bright spots and dark spots.
ReplyDeletei think you should put that proof on the blog. i forgot it already.
DeleteHere again light is used to create some sort of knowledge for the rulers that dwelled within the Pantheon. The article delves into the different types of things the light may have signified that historians all fight over, but the importance is its consistency with the reoccurring theme of light being a source of knowledge for all.
ReplyDelete