Today I learned a new aspect of geometry – the “symmedians” of a triangle. This esoteric term showed up in a review by Wall Street Journal writer Mark Laswell of a book on personal ads.* Here’s the appeal for a companion that caught my eye:
“Apparently the Three Symmedians aren’t a novelty Bosnian folk troupe. Rubbish mathematician (M 37).”
This diagram and detailing by Wolfram Mathworld tells you how to draw symmedians on a triangle and locate the symmedian point, which is the “isogonal conjugate” of the centroid.
It turns out that the centroid is a vital point for mixture design of experiments aimed at optimizing product formulations, as explained in this primer that I co-authored.
So that explains how the symmedian is an interesting ‘counter-point’ for me. However, I wonder if the self-styled “rubbish mathematician” attracted an isogonal conjugate with his play on geometry.
*(“Lonely Hearts, Like Minds The eccentric personal ads of ‘romantically awkward eggheads”)