The Charleston Real Estate Search.com

Fibonacci

Yesterday, Jerry Weise commented on the Fibonacci series.  For those of you who may not know what this is, allow me to share my thimble full of knowledge.

Fibonacci was an inquisitive man who lived in the 13th century.  Born Leonardo of Pisa, son of Bonaccio, he was often referred to as Fibonacci, an Italian  contraction of “son of Bonaccio.” In 1202 he published Liber Abaci about the history of arithmetic.  Applying ancient Indian laws of math to the mating habits of rabbits. he was able to prove that nature often reproduces along a predictable algorithm.

1 + 1 =2 + 1 = 3 +2 = 5 + 3 = 8 +5 = 13 + 8 =21 and so on.

OR 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55,  and so on.

In other words, if you continue to add a number to the previous number you will follow a distinct pattern.  This is the most common pattern of growth in the natural world.  It is what give the nautilus its repetitious beauty.  It adds concentric clockwise and counterclockwise spirals to a sunflower seed head, a pine cone, or a passion flower.

Examined in detail, you can apply this same arithmetic series to anything from human DNA to tree rings.  Ancient Mayans used it to maximize crops in their fields.  Leonardo da Vinci used it to create exquisite works of art that will forever be admired.  Composers use it to create timeless works of harmonious music.

From this series Fibonacci discovered the perfect ratio of proportion and scale. You know it as the Golden Ratio.  I’ll spare you the math, but suffice it to say that if you created a work of art following the Golden Ratio, it would “naturally” appeal to more people because our eyes are trained to recognize natural proportions as correct and beautiful.

Here are some examples of Fibonacci patterns:

A coneflower - notice the spirals going in both directions

If you look closely you will see the 1,1,2,3,5 fruit arrangement along the stem

Want to know more, click here to see the golden ratio.