Dürer's Paradox or Why an Ellipse Is Not Egg-Shaped

Abstract

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Measurement of the neutral axis in avian eggshells reveals which species conform to the golden ratio

“…Attempts to link the parameters of bird eggs with the golden ratio have been made many times. Both the egg and the golden ratio are important objects in architecture and art, and also have a certain touch of mystery 23,[37][38][39][40][41][42] that is presumably the stimulus for a number of researchers to try and correlate them. Of course, the first thing that could be tied into this relationship is the ratio of egg length and maximum breadth, that is, the basic index B/L, called the shape index.…”