Source of beautiful Sunflower Photo:
browse.deviantart.com/photography/?q=sunflower%20head&...
This is a concept that I just thought of one day when I was in my Statistics and Probability class when my professor was talking about how beautiful mathematics is. Typically we don't think of mathematics like that since we are typically taught only to memorize equations and how to manipulate numbers. It's rare that you're given an insight into what each mathematical equation means to the world. So I begin with perhaps my most favorite "artistic" aspect of mathematics...
This is the Fibonacci Series (a.k.a. Fibonacci number, series, golden ratio, etc.), and although to some the equation seems scary, it's actually quite easy to calculate. What you do in order to calculate the subsequent number is add up the two previous numbers (O, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.). So a number that is created through this series is considered a "Fibonacci Number".
So what's so special about this? Well go do a stroll outside and chances are that you will find plenty of examples of Fibonacci. For example the Sunflower that I have here, the number of petals it has is typically 34, which is a Fibonacci Number. This is typical with most flowers as their number of petals is always a Fibonacci number (It's rare to find a flower species that doesn't abide to this). Also most heads of flowers purposely create a spiral-like dispersion and the number of spirals usually equals to a Fibonacci Number. Other examples of this phenomenon can be found in other ways as Fibonacci Numbers create an interesting ratio known as the "Golden Ratio". This ratio should be known well by artists as it's considered to be used in proportions of paintings, sculptures, Architecture, etc....Leonardo used it most prominently in the Mona Lisa (her face is a perfect golden rectangle) and the Last Supper (the spacing of the Apostles around Jesus is proportional to the ratio as is the spacing above their heads). The purpose of this ratio is to draw your eye to a specific area of the painting or photograph. Our Head is proportional to our Torso using the Golden Ratio, as well as the length of our fingers to the hand all the way to tiniest of detail to the structural proportions of our DNA.
So there you have it, I hope I gave you a different outlook of mathematics and how much it is involved in creating the beauty of nature.
browse.deviantart.com/photography/?q=sunflower%20head&...
This is a concept that I just thought of one day when I was in my Statistics and Probability class when my professor was talking about how beautiful mathematics is. Typically we don't think of mathematics like that since we are typically taught only to memorize equations and how to manipulate numbers. It's rare that you're given an insight into what each mathematical equation means to the world. So I begin with perhaps my most favorite "artistic" aspect of mathematics...
This is the Fibonacci Series (a.k.a. Fibonacci number, series, golden ratio, etc.), and although to some the equation seems scary, it's actually quite easy to calculate. What you do in order to calculate the subsequent number is add up the two previous numbers (O, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.). So a number that is created through this series is considered a "Fibonacci Number".
So what's so special about this? Well go do a stroll outside and chances are that you will find plenty of examples of Fibonacci. For example the Sunflower that I have here, the number of petals it has is typically 34, which is a Fibonacci Number. This is typical with most flowers as their number of petals is always a Fibonacci number (It's rare to find a flower species that doesn't abide to this). Also most heads of flowers purposely create a spiral-like dispersion and the number of spirals usually equals to a Fibonacci Number. Other examples of this phenomenon can be found in other ways as Fibonacci Numbers create an interesting ratio known as the "Golden Ratio". This ratio should be known well by artists as it's considered to be used in proportions of paintings, sculptures, Architecture, etc....Leonardo used it most prominently in the Mona Lisa (her face is a perfect golden rectangle) and the Last Supper (the spacing of the Apostles around Jesus is proportional to the ratio as is the spacing above their heads). The purpose of this ratio is to draw your eye to a specific area of the painting or photograph. Our Head is proportional to our Torso using the Golden Ratio, as well as the length of our fingers to the hand all the way to tiniest of detail to the structural proportions of our DNA.
So there you have it, I hope I gave you a different outlook of mathematics and how much it is involved in creating the beauty of nature.
