How Good is Gold?

The Golden Rectangle is a rectangle whose sides are related to one another by the Golden Proportion, which is the ratio of 1 to 1.618. It has been claimed by artists, architects, and aestheticians that this ratio is the most aesthetically pleasing division of a line, and therefore the Golden Rectangle is the most aesthetically pleasing of all rectangles. The history of the Golden Ratio dates back to the ancient Egyptians, circa 1149 B.C. This ratio has been found throughout history and permeates a broad range of cultures. Many scholars believe that the pleasing nature of the Golden Ratio is innate, thus creating a mystic appeal which underlies this irrational number. Past studies have focused on preference of the Golden Rectangle. Warren McCulloch (1965) studied recognition of the Golden Rectangle and claims that a man can "detect a difference of a twentieth in length, area, or volume [and] sets it at 1 to 1.618." The present study was to test the accuracy of participants' recognition of Golden Rectangles using randomized sequential comparison rectangles and Golden Rectangles. Some participants performed systematically in their judgments, but the majority did not.