Euclid Alone Has Looked on Beauty Bare

 Admittedly, I have never been very good at understanding or writing poems. As far back as middle school, poems have never made a ton of sense to me. This poem was no different, it wasn't until I did further research that I began to understand this poem. Euclid was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "founder of geometry". His elements are often thought of as one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, often being used as the main textbook for teaching math, especially geometry. 

My interpretation of these poems is that Euclid has seen beauty in shapes that no one else at that point was able to see. His geometric proofs have given beauty and grace to shapes that were once thought of as just "shapes". In "The Euclidean Domain", David Kramer questions this notion, asking "Has no one else seen hide or hair?". This is basically Kramer saying "we have all seen shapes, how is Euclid the only one that sees this beauty?". Kramer may have a point, during the current day and age I'm sure a lot of people see the beauty and complexities of geometry. Is this only because of the discoveries and proofs of Euclid though? I guess we will never know, but I think even Kramer would acknowledge how important Euclid's proof are still to this day.