ɹˈɪtʃɚdsən hæd bᵻlˈiːvd, bˈeɪst ˌɔn juːklˈɪdiːən dʒiˈɑːmətɹi, ðˌæɾə kˈoʊstlaɪn wʊd ɐpɹˈoʊtʃ ɐ fˈɪkst lˈɛŋθ, æz dˈuː sˈɪmɪlɚɹ ˌɛstᵻmˈeɪʃənz ʌv ɹˈɛɡjʊlɚ dʒˌiːoʊmˈɛtɹɪk fˈɪɡjɚz.
Richardson had believed, based on Euclidean geometry, that a coastline would approach a fixed length, as do similar estimations of regular geometric figures.