The Golden Ratio is a mathematical constant that, since the Renaissance, artists have incorporated into their works as an expression of aesthetic perfection. Doug Bowman of Twitter says that the site's redesign is directly based upon it:
To anyone curious about #NewTwitter proportions, know that we didn't leave those ratios to chance.
This, of course, only applies to the narrowest version of the UI. If your browser window is wider, your details pane will expand to provide greater utility, throwing off these proportions. But the narrowest width shows where we started, ratio-wise.
Link via Gizmodo | Image: Doug Bowman
Previously: The Amen Break and the Golden Ratio
Golden Ratio is just for the minority: http://twitter.com/ozanilbey/status/25904584104