Monday, April 14, 2008

the fibonacci numbers

i know this is a little different from the golden ratio, but still on the tracks of math and numbers, I read another article which talks about the fibonacci numbers and claims that much of the mystique surrounding them is misplaced. it says we ought to recognize that this sequence is simply one example of a large class of sequences with such properties. by focusing too narrowly on a specific example, we may lose sight of more general principles at work. the authors believe that it is more fascinating that an entire world of such sequence exists and should not be overlooked. there are a lot of equations and proofs and claims which i'm not going to try to interpret, but basically this papers saying that the properties that make this sequence so 'special' isn't limited or unique to the fibonacci numbers, it happens everywhere, all the time, in other number sequences as well (like the golden ratio). it's not trying to take away from the amazingness of the fibonacci numbers, but it's just saying that we should step back and look at the big picture more often. you can find the article here: use google scholar from the UT library website and you can view this article for free if they try to charge you otherwise.

2 comments:

Sterbenz said...

that is a very cool thing to find, but i personally always liked the popularly known specialness of the fibonacci numbers. it always gives an easy jeapordy question and come on what the DaVinci code been without those little numbers.

Mike said...

the first time I heard of the fibonacci sequence was in the Da Vinci Code I think. It's weird how people can find patterns out or seemingly random bits of information.