Fibonacci Numbers, the Cochlea, and Poetry [Retrospectacle: A Neuroscience Blog]

Published: October 12, 2007, 9:44 am

The Fibonacci numbers form a sequence defined by this relation (don't be scared!): What this means, in English, is that it is a sequence of numbers whose relationship is this: after the first two numbers, each proceeding number is the sum of the previous two numbers. For example 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233.....and so on. Quite simple, really. Fibonacci numbers have an interesting property. When you divide one number in the sequence by the number preceding it, you are left with a number very close to 1.618, and this number is fixed after the 13th number in the series. This number is called the "golden ratio," and rectangle whose sides is equal to the golden ratio is known as a "golden rectangle." Fibonacci numbers are not purely artifact, they are also found in nature in an uncurling fern, the branching of trees, and leaflets of the pineapple. The Fibonacci sequence also describes the "golden spiral," which is when a "golden rectangle" is subdivided in

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