Finding Fobonacci

There may not be many opportunities to use advanced math in your daily life, but such is not the case for the Fibonacci Sequence. In plants, animals, architecture, and cyclones, the Fibonacci Sequence makes itself known. So, what is it? It's an open set of numbers. Rather than telling you what numbers, why don't you figure it out? 

 

Below is a portion of the Fibonacci Sequence. By looking at the order and identifying relationships, can you figure out what the pattern is? If so, you will have uncovered Fibonacci's Sequence.

 

0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21

 

Cracking Leonardo's Code

So, did you crack the code? The Fibonacci Sequence is created by adding two adjacent numbers in the sequence to create a sum which serves as the next number in the sequence's chain. In other words 0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, and so forth on to infinity.

But while the mathematical concept is named after Leonardo Bogollo, an Italian mathematician who lived during the early 13th-century and was nicknamed "Fibonacci", Bogollo was not the first person to know about the sequence. Actually, it was known in India centuries before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Fibonacci.jpg

Easy as Phi

Contrary to simply being an interesting numerical pattern, the discovery of the Fibonacci Sequence has shed light on many aspects of natural order. In other words, the Sequence has been part of the fabric of nature since before Bogollo, or mathematicians from India for that matter, discovered it. 

To understand how, we must first understand the ratio between the numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence.

 

Try this. Beginning with the initial numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence, divide values by the value directly preceding them (ex: 5/3, 8/5, 13/8, and 21/13). Did you notice anything interesting about the quotients?

 

The larger the values get, or the further along the Fibonnacci Sequence you move, the closer your proportion comes to what mathematicians have deemed the Golden Ratio, or 1.61803398875... . Also known as Phi, this ratio has been used to analyze the proportions of natural object such as the spiral of seed growth in a sunflower or the curvature of conch shell. Interestingly though, Phi has also been used to analyze man-made systems such as financial markets and aesthetic designs as well.

 

Image Source: http://farm1.staticflickr.com/153/354973349_5f6dfcfa35_o.jpg

From Credit Cards to Twitter

The mystique behind the Fibonacci Sequence and Phi have captivated mathematicians, artists, architects, and lovers of patterns through time and across geographic boundaries. What is it about the sequence and its resulting ratio that appear so natural and seem so perfect?

If you pull a credit card out of your wallet and divide the length by the width, you will find that it closely resembles the Golden Ratio.

If you measure the length from your forefinger to your shoulder and divide that by the measurement of your forefinger to your elbow, you will find that this too is close to 1.618.

You can go as far as to measure the dimensions of your desktop Twitter feed, and surely, you will find Fibonacci's imprint there as well.

 

Image Source: http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6223/6346236526_630551c9c9_o.jpg

Fibonacci in Pop Culture

Before you write the Fibonacci Sequence as being interesting only in academia, you should know that the pattern and its corresponding proportion are widely seen and referred to in pop culture, including movies, television, literature, comic strips, and even hip-hop music.

In the blockbuster thriller The Da Vinci Code, the Fibonacci numbers are used to unlock a safe as well as to encrypt a message.

In television shows ranging from Numb3rs to Adventure Time, values from the Sequence can be seen embedded in codes left by killers and on the back of the Enchiridion.

Bibliophiles see the influence of Fibonacci in such books as The Perfect Spiral by Jason S. Hornsby, The Rabbitt Problem by Emily Gravett, and The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum.

And teens jam to tunes trumpetting the Fibonaci Sequence including Black Star's song "Astronomy (8th Light)" and Tool's "Lateralus", where they syllables in the first two verses follow Fibonaci.

 

You Can't Run or Hide. Fibonacci Numbers Will Find You

It's undeniable. Like air, ex-girlfriends, and taxes, the Fibonacci Sequence is everywhere. Rather than run for cover, you might as well embrace it. Celebrate it every December third (the date is part of the Fibonacci Sequence). Acknowledge it in the proportions of the Mona Lisa. And appreciate it next time you look at a picture of one of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic homes. 

When math is in everything and everywhere, you might as well take the time to stop and smell the roses, or chamomile. See?

 

Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/FibonacciChamomile.PNG

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.04.2014

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