Patterns in nature are visible regularities of form found in the natural world. These patterns recur in different contexts and can sometimes be modelled mathematically. Natural patterns include symmetries, trees, spirals, meanders, waves, foams, tessellations, cracks and stripes.
Spirals are common in plants and in some animals, notably molluscs. With its colourful tail, the chameleon seems to tell us, “I can create something close to a golden spiral”.
Fibonacci (c. 1170–c. 1240–50), also known as Leonardo Bonacci, Leonardo of Pisa, or Leonardo Bigollo Pisano (‘Leonardo the Traveler from Pisa’), was an Italian mathematician from the Republic of Pisa, considered to be “the most talented Western mathematician of the Middle Ages”. He wrote books on problems in mathematics. In 1202, through his composition Liber Abaci (Book of Calculation), he introduced the so-called modus Indorum (method of the Indians), which is known today as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system.
In Liber Abaci, Fibonacci advocated the use of the digits 0–9 and place value. The book showed the practical use and value of the new Hindu-Arabic numeral system by applying the numerals to commercial bookkeeping, converting weights and measures, calculation of interest, money-changing, and other applications. The book was well-received throughout educated Europe and had a profound impact on European thought. The original 1202 manuscript is not known to exist.
With his book Liber Abaci, Fibonacci introduced the number sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597,…, the series Fn = Fn-1 + Fn-2, F0 = 0, F1 = 1 to the western world.
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RELATED ARTICLES
- Fibonacci (en.wikipedia.org)
- Golden Spiral (en.wikipedia.org)
- Patterns in nature (en.wikipedia.org)
- Bates, Mary. “How Do Chameleons Change Colors?”. Wired. Wired Magazine. April 11, 2014.
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