This simple, yet intriguing system of numbers first originated in the Hindu-Arabic arithmetic system, and reached the western world by 1202 in the book Liber Abaci by Italian mathematician, Fibonacci (also known as Leonardo of Pisa and Leonardo Pisano). Fibonacci first encountered these numbers while studying in North Africa, but the first time he actually noticed the sequence was in a mathematical problem about rabbit breeding.
As we begin to look at our universe through a Fibonacci lense, we can see Fibonacci’s numbers blazing from sources all around… not just when it comes to rabbit love. Fibonacci’s sequence can be spotted in the spiral shapes of galaxies, hurricanes, shells, pinecones, and even flowers. Out of the Fibonacci sequence, we get a beautiful spiral formation. By connecting a series of quarter-circles fitted squares with dimensions of each Fibonacci number as so, we form a particularly captivating image.
More interestingly, as we take the ratio of two successive numbers in the sequence, we find that the very closely approximate the Golden Ratio, commonly notates with the Greek symbol phi, or 1.618034. This ratio is also incredibly common in both nature and artwork. For example, creations such as the violin and famous works of art such as the Mona Lisa correspond distinctly to the golden ratio.
The Fibonacci Sequence teaches us that our universe holds an intrinsic and powerful underlying relationship between some of the tiniest elements like flowers, and the grandest elements like galaxies. The Fibonacci Sequence also reveals to us the subconscious mathematical awareness that humans, to such an extent that it reveals itself in our artistic creations. From the Fibonacci Sequence we learn that humanity and nature are more connected than we may know, and we can also see how incredible it is that such a simple mathematical concept seems to govern our world so exquisitely whether we are aware of it or not.