Wednesday Wisdom

There is order to the universe

Who

Leonardo Bonacci, Leonardo of Pisa, or Leonardo Bigollo Pisano ('Leonardo the Traveller from Pisa' was an Italian mathematician from The Republic of Pisa. He is considered to be the most talented Western mathematician of the Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) and was critical in introducing Arabic numbers to the west. He is better known simply as Fibonacci.

What?

In 1202 Fibonacci wrote a book called "Liber AbaciIn" (Book of calculations) which had numerous math problems and was a way of introducing the 10-digit numerical system to a larger audience. Finding Roman numeral systems difficult and archaic for bookkeeping, his book created a stir in Europe. His book led to the acceptance and growth in banking and commerce by popularizing the Hindu-Arabic 10-digit system, which was far more efficient.

Among Fibonacci's many math problems, he solved how many rabbits one would born in a year if one began with one male and one female adult rabbit. In order to explain rabbit population growth, Fibonacci used a recursive equation based on math and logic. A recursive equation provides a sequence and answer by determining each number based on the previous number.

The Fibonacci Sequence is a classic example of a recursive equation because each number is the sum of the previous two numbers. It looks like this starting with zero; 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181.......: This sequence goes on to infinity and might seem simple or unremarkable, but its power lies in explaining how growth becomes exponential rather than linear. It also unlocks ratios which provide symmetry, which is a balance or correspondence between different parts of an object, shape, or system. This can occur in various contexts, such as in geometry, nature, art, and even physics. The Fibonacci Sequence unlocks a mathematical formula to explain symmetry, which is considered a fundamental aspect of aesthetics, playing a crucial role in how humans perceive beauty and harmony in art, design, and nature.

German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630 CE) while exploring Fibonacci numbers discovered an amazing insight. Kepler is best known for developing laws of planetary motion and noticed a pattern, in which the ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers approaches the Golden or Divine Ratio. Each number in the sequence is proportionately higher than the last number by 1.618033... , which is the golden ratio or expressed in Greek language as Phi. Since ancient Greece, the use of The Golden Ratio had been known in geometry and architecture. Kepler explained that the Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio are essentially the same mathematical formulation and proved where there seems to be chaos in the Universe there is actually order.

Johannes Kepler through is deep Lutheran faith believed he had proven how the universe divinely inspired because the Golden Ratio showed order when there appeared to be chaos. He wrote that "the image of man and woman stems from the divine proportion. In my opinion, the propagation of plants and the progenitive acts of animals are in the same ratio"

2024 Why should you care?

The Golden Ratio is not only important in geometry, but its pattern is seen in many natural phenomena, from the smallest nautilus, pine combs, flowers, and even in the shape of the largest galaxies. The sequence also has directly connected with the golden ratio and is used throughout history in many works of art such as the Mona Lisa and Leonardo DaVinci's Vitruvian Man, The Fibonacci sequence can even be heard in music where any octave has 13 notes, and scale is comprised of 8 notes. The Fibonacci number sequence describes how things grow, and also how they decay. It can predict the increase in the population of a colony of rabbits, as well as a colony of bacteria. Fibonacci numbers are used to predict the behavior of financial assets, such as stock market indexes, and are widely used in financial markets.

Most importantly, finding patterns and symmetry is intrinsic to how humanity thinks and finds beauty and order.

This series, though invented in the twelfth century, is useful and still presents avenues for sophisticated research. The significance of the Fibonacci number sequence is instrumental in describing the behavior of many natural systems with an elegant simplicity that opens a world of complex abstract thought. There is still debate about whether the Golden Ratio is a key to understanding the universe or just human bias in finding patterns, but the intersection of math and logic has always been part of understanding the human condition and the world.

Numbers provide a means to uncover symmetry, and through symmetry, we can explore and understand the philosophies of logic and aesthetics.

And now you know...

Thank you, Dad, for the gift of curiosity.

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses.

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.