Squares Don’t Make Sense
And it’s Rectangle’s Fault
The term “Rectangle,” I have been assured by a friend, is defined as shapes with four sides and four 90° angles.
The term “Square” is defined as shapes with four sides of equal length and four 90° angles.
A Square is a type of Rectangle because some of its qualities fulfill the qualifications for being a Rectangle.
There are other shapes that have four sides, with two sets of sides measuring different lengths, and four 90° angles; but these we also call “Rectangles.”
Why does the specific quality of having four sides of equal length, for all other qualities adhere to the definition of Rectangle, warrant a new term, “Square?”
And if we say it does warrant that new term, as it does make identifying it as a shape with that unique quality easier, then why would shapes with two sets of sides measuring different lengths not also warrant a new term?
Why is the term Rectangle used for both shapes that have four sides and four 90° angles and shapes that have four sides, with two sets of sides measuring different lengths, and four 90° angles?
It would seem that Rectangles with two sets of sides measuring different lengths should be called something akin to Squares and other than Rectangles.
In this analysis, I will call them “Tquares.”
Perhaps an analogy would make this dilemma more clear.
“Color” is a broad term that all different colors fall under, like the term “Rectangle.”
Each color only has one quality that makes them different from each other, like Squares and Tquares.
Let’s equate Red to Squares and Blue to Tquares.
Would it make sense to call the color Red, Red, and the color Blue, Color?
I think not, yet that is exactly what happens when Tquares are called Rectangles.
To fix this mistake of definitions, I have three separate propositions:
- We call what is currently known as Rectangles, “Tquares,” and say that both Squares and Tquares are also “Rectangles.”
- We do away with the term “Square” and simply refer to all shapes that have four sides and four 90° angles as “Rectangles,” regardless of their other qualities.
- Or, we redefine “Rectangle.”
Problem solved! You’re welcome, world.