The Divine Proportions of Luca Pacioli

An orphan from a small town in Italy, Pacioli came of age during the Renaissance seemingly destined for a life of struggle and obscurity. But Pacioli had the good fortune of meeting mentors who recognized his uncanny ability with numbers and introduced him to renowned artists and philosophers, royalty, and popes.

At a time when many still used Roman numerals and colleges didn’t even teach mathematics, Pacioli was determined to share his passion and make it accessible and understandable. Apprentice to an artist, but a terrible artist himself, he became a master at calculating mathematical perspective in paintings. Tasked with teaching mathematics with no textbook, he wrote his own—followed by books on double-entry bookkeeping, chess, and the divine proportion.

In this way, Luca Pacioli, “the father of accounting,” still has something to teach us—not just about mathematics—but about how we account for setbacks in our lives and how we determine what our legacy will be.

About the Author

W. A.W. Parker grew up Adam Parker, not knowing until he was twelve years old that his full name was William Adam Washburne Parker. Since this was a mouthful for a kid growing up in northeastern Montana, an area The Washington Post has dubbed “the middle of nowhere,” he remained Adam Parker until he earned his first film credit, found out he would have been the nineteenth Adam Parker on IMDb, and was thus in need of a pen name.

Adam discovered a lot of himself in Luca Pacioli. Moving around as a kid, Adam always made sure the first friend he made in every town was his local library. He studied at Harvard primarily because it is home to the oldest library system in the United States. As Luca does, Adam found that he could travel the world by roaming the stacks.

The Divine Proportions of Luca Pacioli is Adam’s first novel, but you’ll be able to read his second novel soon—about 20th-century architect Pietro Belluschi.