Any triangle may be named triangle ABC. Each of its sides will contain exactly two points — called “tridpoints” — which divide that side into three segments of equal length. In triangle ABC above, the tridpoints are named in such a way that two of them, E and F, are encountered, in that order, if one moves from A to B. On the way from B to C, two more tridpoints are encountered: first F, and then G. Finally, going from C back to A, the last two tridpoints are found: first H, and then J. If a polygon is formed using those six tridpoints in alphabetical order (matching the order of their placement), that polygon is a convex hexagon, DEFGHJ. Another name for it is hexagon DJHGFE, which I mention only because Geometer’s Sketchpad called it that, in the picture above, when I asked it for the area of this hexagon, shown in green. The original triangle, ABC, includes both the yellow and green regions, and I asked Sketchpad for the area of this triangle, also, as well as the hexagon-to-triangle area ratio, which is shown above as the familiar “decimalized” version of the fraction 2/3.

A nice feature of Sketchpad is that you can do things like this — and then move points around, to see what effect that has on measured and calculated values. When I move points A, B, and/or C, the triangle and hexagon areas, of course, change. Their area ratio, however, remains at a decimal which is a rounded-off version of 2/3. It doesn’t change at all, no matter where A, B, and C are placed. Any triangle’s tridpoint-hexagon has an area exactly 2/3 that of the original triangle.

This is not yet a theorem — because what is written above is an explanation, not a proof. I’ve started working on a proof for this conjecture in my head, and will post it on this blog when/if I successfully complete it.

[Later edit — one of my readers provided a proof, so now it’s a theorem. For his proof, see the first comment on this post.]