7. Ratio and Fibonacci PROJECT 7.9 Nature’s Sequences : Daisy Petals
The seed patterns in sunflowers, the arrangement of petals in daisies, even the sequence of branches on pine trees all follow Fibonacci’s sequence. Count the number of petals in daisies. It is very often 55, not 56 or 54. These sequences occur in nature because they are irregular. They reduce the lines of weakness in a plant’s physical structure making them stronger and less likely to split or break along lines of weakness.
Leonardo of Pisa (nicknamed Fibonacci) Italian mathematician, (1180–1250)
Fibonacci is most famous for the Fibonacci Sequence mentioned on page 73. He travelled widely around North Africa with his father where he noticed the differences between number systems in Europe and those in the Arab world. In 1202 he wrote a book called Liber Abaci which introduced the Hindu-Arabic system of numbers to the West. The Greek and Roman system of solving arithmetic problems was difficult. The new Hindu-Arabic system was much easier and allowed Europe to become the centre of the world of mathematics in the following centuries.
