the.com/formation
the universe's favorite trick: scattered things deciding, suddenly, to mean something together
means the act or process of forming something, or the particular shape, structure, or arrangement that results.
from From Latin 'formatio,' the noun of 'formare,' to shape or fashion, built on 'forma' — form, shape, mold. The same root presses into 'format,' 'reform,' and 'transform.' The thing about 'forma' is that it meant a mold or pattern long before it meant a finished shape, so 'formation' carries that double life: both the casting and the cast, the making and the made.
- bird logic
- V-formations save birds up to 20% energy
- rock time
- some take millions of years to form layer by layer
- military origin
- the word once meant troops arranged for battle
- fighter jets
- pilots fly meters apart at supersonic speeds
- galaxy scale
- stars cluster into formations spanning thousands of light-years
battle of hastings — norman shield wall formation defeated anglo-saxon forces in 1066
phalanx — ancient greek military formation of overlapping shields used by alexander the great
square formation — british infantry tactic against cavalry charges, decisive in napoleonic wars
tortoise formation — roman testudo with shields overhead, used during siege of jerusalem 70 ad