Why The Name Squared Circle?

No it is not a Boxing/Wrestling/Any other Unarmed Combat Sport reference.

Well first, we're Freemasons, and we should know our Geometry!

In Geometry, Squaring a Circle is an ancient and unsolvable(only proven so in 1882) problem first studied by the Greeks.

It is the challenge of constructing a square with precisely the same area of a circle by using only a finite number of steps with a pair of compasses and a straightedge. It's proven to be impossible because the area of a square(length x width) involves rational numbers
(which can be fully expressed), whereas a circle's area relies on pi (pi x radius squared), which being an 'irrational number',
cannot be finitely expressed, only approximated.

Some of the greatest mathematical minds have worked to make formulas for close approximations, including Ramanujan, the famous Indian mathematical prodigy, whose youth and self-taught brilliance inspired the movie "Good Will Hunting", and later a biographical drama "The Man Who Knew Infinity". Ramanujan's formula approximated a squared circle so precisely, that the side of the square would be longer by less than 1/12 of an inch when the diameter of its corresponding circle is 8000 miles.

1/12 of an inch for an 8000 mile diameter circle...........not bad for 'approximately'.

GET TO THE POINT!
What does this esoteric geometry have to do with Masonry and your website?!?!

Well, all Masons know the line "No innovations shall be made in the body of Masonry". Too often though, Masons take that to mean "you can't improve the masonic experience with anything that wasn't there 300 years ago". But that's not true, of course. Lots of things have improved the Masonic experience as technology and society have advanced. The electric light, certainly, has drastically reduced the number of masonic buildings destroyed by fire. Communications technology has made reaching out to brethren easier, quicker, and allowed efforts for charity and relief to begin and be effective far faster than in the day of our historical brethren. Visiting lodges in foreign jurisdictions, even halfway around the world, now takes no more than a phone call and a few emails, and some Masons are working to make that process simpler still.

So this site documents the various items, programs, projects, etc, that are my attempts to 'square the circle' of improving the Freemason experience, along with links to anyone else I notice doing bold ideas for taking Freemasonry into the 21st century. It might be a piece of regalia that's difficult to find, or a lodge or Grand Lodge program that I worked on, or ideas on using mainstream products or services to make 'doing the work of Masonry' a bit easier/cheaper/more fun/more fulfilling. It might eventually have some philosophical musings of mine,
or include presentations I've made. We'll see.

Not every idea will be perfect, or solve every concern. The circle won't be squared, because it can't.
But in most instances, a perfect solution isn't needed, just a good one that can be improved from time to time.

And too often, people get scared off from trying at all by letting the perfect be the enemy of the good,
and the whole Craft loses out.

Oh, and one more Masonic connection to Squaring a Circle.

We are all taught as Masons that we are smoothing the rough spots on the Ashlar of our Soul/Character/Being, trying to emulate a perfect Ashlar, to eventually be used "in that house not made with hands". We are reminded to do this all our lives, but that we'll never actually achieve perfection, and because of that, we should stay aware of how we can continue to improve ourselves, and keep on smoothing.

In this mindset, our Ashlars aren't so much 'rough' as 'round', born out of the 'irrationality' of our human nature, and our smoothing is just a lifelong attempt to square a circle. And if we're diligent and lucky, our efforts at 'approximating' our perfected Ashlar won't need too much correction from the Grand Architect of the Universe, when at last we submit our work for inspection.