1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21

Leonardo Fibonacci... creator of arguably the most brilliantly simple yet elusive of numerical sequences. At first glance, the numbers appear to have no correlation, they look quite random. Especially confusing are the two 1s beginning the sequence. Glance at it for a while, I'm certain that if you don't figure out the pattern soon, it will come to you in time. After all, it is so very simple...

I wonder if this Fibonacci character had the vaguest idea that his sequence of numbers, commonly referred to as the Fibonacci Sequence, would become as popular among mathematicians as it is today. Did he realize the implications of what he had observed?

When you apply the numbers in the series in a more geometrical manner, a fascinating thing occurs. Take the first number in the sequence: 1. Create a square with sides a length of one unit. Then, continue to create squares with sides equal to the value of each number in the series. Place them in a spiraling design, and you end up with an perfectly packed design of a spiral as in the following diagram (courtesy of http://www.mathacademy.com):



This is a fascinating thing. Not because we just packed a bunch of boxes into a tight fitting quadrilateral by way of numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence, but that nature itself uses this sequence constantly. Whether trying to fit as many seeds possible in a sunflower by putting them in a spiral design with the precise number of the seeds being a number from the sequence. The sequence is also used to predict rabbit breeding, but encountering problems only when forgetting to take into consideration that, unlike numbers, rabbits do not live forever.

Arguably the most amazing aspect addressed by the Fibonacci Sequence is what is often referred to as the Golden Ratio. If we take all of the numbers of the Fibonacci Sequence and arrange them in a series of never-ending proportions to the previous number in the series, as seen in the next image (also courtesy of http://www.mathacademy.com), you begin to arrive at a number.



The ratio that is approached when all proportions are considered is so famous that it even has its own name and symbol.

Φ (PHI) = 1.6180339887
This number is found in countless places in our lives... I won't get into the specifics behind them, but it can be found in the proportions of the human body, the proportions of many other animals, plants, DNA, the solar system, art and architecture, music, population growth, the stock market, and the Bible and in theology.

This sequence also has a starring role in the #1 worldwide bestseller by Dan Brown - The DaVinci Code and the upcoming film opening in theaters tomorrow. A phenomenal work not only of great technical writing skills and the ability to create deep, honest, and engaging characters with superb dialogue... Brown also displays something else. An ability to offer codes and puzzles throughout the story. Even the books themselves offer codes and puzzles for the reader. The cover of the hardcover edition has seemingly randomly bolded letters within the story summary. However, when you take those letters and sort them out, you come to realize they are an anagram with a deeper message hidden within... And that is where Dan Brown's talent lies. Not in showing us what is deep underneath all of this, but engaging us as we journey with him in an effort to peel off the layers. He begs us not to ask the question "What is underneath?", but instead "What is this layer, why is it here, and how can we delve into what it is hiding?"

And for that reason, Dan Brown is on the top of my list as my new favorite author.

That's all for tonight, folks. I'm picking up Liz from the airport on Sunday and I'm utterly excited for that! I have a lot of work to do before then, however, so I had better get to that.

Have a PHIne evening, everyone.

Love,
David

P.S. A bad ship's sin! I blame this size.

[Hint: Those two sentences are each separate anagrams for two other phrases. I doubt anyone will try to figure it out, but the first person to get it gets a Caramel Macchiato via Starbucks on me.]