The most interesting thing that I read today is about the magic number or the golden ratio which is 1.618034
Believe it or not, this number is used across several disciplines such as arts, economics, mathematics, physics and even in biology. So why is this weird number so important?
Origin:
The origins of 1.618034 can be attributed to the well-known Fibonacci series. As many people would know, the series is obtained by adding the previous two numbers of the series. The series starts with 0 and 1 and then continues on according to the aforementioned logic. It looks something like this : 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 and so no.
Consider the ratio between two consecutive numbers of this series. The ratio seems to fluctuate at first but as the numbers get higher, a pattern arises.
Do you observe a pattern? If not let’s look further with higher numbers.
Clearly, as the number increase in magnitude, the ratio of numbers of the Fibonacci series tend towards that magic number, 1.618034
This number has applications across various disciplines.
Art
Artists such as Leonardo da-vinci and Salvador dali incorporated the golden ratio in their paintings. Da vinci in one of his book on the proportions of objects clearly mentions about the magic number and how usage of it in paintings adds to it’s beauty.
The Mona-lisa was constructed carefully according to the golden ratio.
Biology
The golden ratio is applied even in the DNA of human beings.
It is said that people with face proportions that are close to the golden ratio are more attractive that those who do not have proportions in accordance with the golden ratio.
Construction
Various historical buildings have been constructed in accordance with this ratio.
Hurricanes and galaxies too have been observed to follow the golden ratio.
Conclusion: The number 1.618034 is used in arts, mathematics, physics, construction, biology and several other disciplines as well. It is truly amazing how such a weird number has such tremendous applications.
By the way, the actual number is not 1.618034, it is 1.61803398875. Stay curious.