What would you say if I told you that sunflower seeds, hurricanes, seashells, purple cabbage, and planetary orbits were all connected? How could all of these things possibly be related? After thinking about it, you may think that all of these things are connected by the common theme of nature. You wouldn’t be wrong in the slightest, but these things have more in common than their existence in the natural world. What else could Venus’s orbit around the sun possibly have to do with the purple cabbage you ate for dinner last night?
These seemingly disconnected objects are related by such a fundamental, yet usually overlooked pattern: the Fibonacci sequence. This mathematical sequence appears in more than just calculus textbooks – in fact, this simple sequence of numbers appears just about everywhere, including cabbage, sunflower seeds, and planetary orbits1. So all of these “random” things are related by a sequence of numbers; why should you care? If you hadn’t previously felt a connection to the sunflowers growing in your garden, or the developing hurricane on the opposite side of the globe, would you care more if you knew that YOU are also related to these things by the same sequence of numbers?
This mysterious, yet ubiquitous interconnectivity between humans, other living beings, and the rest of the universe, is immensely fascinating to me, and has been the major focus of this project. Through much research and creative reflection throughout the term, my intention has been to expose the ubiquity of the Fibonacci sequence in the universe, to provoke curiosity about its relationship to humans, and to elicit a high level of personal and environmental awareness.
I hope that my findings and creative project kindle your own curiosity about the world’s mystery and interconnectivity, and inspire you to take actions to protect the well-being of the environment.
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“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”
– Albert Einstein