1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34... by Chipka
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Description
As a child, I hated math. I blame bad teachers for that. I loved science. But I still had bad teachers. Funny how that works. I suspect there’s a mathematical equation that illuminates all of the dark and murky corners of what I’d just declared; I have yet to discover that equation, however. Ah, but mathematical equations are like Star Wars quotes: there’s one for every conceivable situation in life. You just need the desire necessary to figure it all out.
My love of Science remains with me. I see Science as the biography of existence itself: the small triumphs and obscure tragedies, the grand schemes, and surprising accomplishments. Science—more than any “philosophical discipline” informs much of what I think and feel. There's an expansiveness that belies the reductionism non-scientists would have you believe is the root cause of science. This perceived reductionism is—as I see it—the main reason why religion and science don’t seem to agree on anything. Ah, but religion is reductionist in nature; it ascribes everything to a single cause, but stops short of examining the very existential nature of that cause.
Science, on the other hand, grasps—at least instinctively—the fractal nature of everything. It has, after all, has proven that the moment you think you know an answer to a question, the situation becomes more complex, more detailed, and thus, more expansive. More questions arise. All you’ve done, in finding the answer to a nagging question, was reduce your focus. You’ve zoomed in, and in so doing, you’ve increased the complexity of a given thing. It’s like zooming in on a fractal. What you perceive as a curve becomes something far more complicated, jagged, and messy when you look at it closely.
Science, in its willingness to embrace this strangeness has joined forces with mathematics. Where science is the narrative of existence, mathematics is the grammar. This does not discount the importance of religion (at least for me) but it’s a pointer to the fact that if science and mathematics are the grammar and prose of existence, religion is the way we feel about it. Religion is a declaration of what we like and what we don’t like—it’s about us, our fears and our aspirations. Science and Mathematics are—quite simply—about the free and fun tools and materials that we have to work with, and what we may ultimately build with those materials and tools.
I think of this when I see things like the shell of a snail, or the spiral of rose-petals yawning open from the heart of the sweet-scented, bug-attracting blossom. I think of this when I see fish scales, or the odd wind-blown wheat patterns of a Russian friend’s rampant and riotous cowlicks, or the shape of my beloved’s receding hairline. Mathematics can identify these things and teach us how to perceive them, Science can give us the poetic language necessary to express this…and ultimately, religion (if it’s to work at all) is the emotional context in which we feel what we have learned. As I think of this, I understand the absolute glee that I feel whenever I see something like the sequence of Fibonacci Numbers, and the profound sense of disinterest I try quickly to ignore, when I see a religious symbol that denies the absolute beauty of those crenelated patterns I’ve seen on the fringes of a particular Russian friend’s pinky toenail, and the similarity of those patterns to the ridges and valleys on the skin of a snail’s shell.
Science and Mathematics has taught us that Nature works with only a limited number of patterns and materials, but oh! how rich and complex everything is because of that!
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you're all having a great weekend.
Comments (30)
kgb224
Wonderful capture my friend.
danapommet
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144..... Super textures in this shell and the surface below. Great shot Chip. Dana
jac204
Nice capture and narrative.
mbz2662
55... I was intrigued by your title and captivated by your writing. ...and isn't clever to have thought of this mathematical title for the snail which is a geometrical mind boggler to me. Then it got me to thinking about something I had read about the 'rule of thirds' and the 'Fibonacci Spiral'. Of course, I couldn't remember Fibonacci right away, and I felt like my mind was spiraling out of control trying to retrieve the information from some file lost in the unused portion of my brain ... lol.. so I started googling and found what I was looking for fairly quickly. Just in case you want to read it : "Fibonacci Spiral".
jocko500
Science is proofing the Bible all the time. Guess i study a diff type of science. What i do not like is a sciencetest goes to a site that have a human foot print in a dinosaur foot print. or humans foot print running and a dinosaur foot prints running atfer the man and you can tell the dinosaur got the man. oh and that sciencetest refuse to look at the prints. Link to this fact http://www.bible.ca/tracks/tracks.htm more here http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Talk/talk.origins/2007-08/msg08758.html http://www.focusonlinecommunities.com/message/90605 just some of the links. anyway this is a wonderful looking tree rings that will tell the age of the tre and what type of year it was. if it was a dry year or wet year or just right. Tells a lot here a link to tree rings http://www.arborday.org/kids/carly/lifeofatree/ as the snail he too have rings. I did not study to say why is this
geirla
Great image and essay!
beachzz
A friend and I had a most interesting conversation about math a week or so ago. He lives math, and feels everything in the world can be related back to it. We had a wonderful time talking about how that can work. So, this really speaks to me, loud and clear--even though beyond the basics stuff, I have NO clue. These kinds of problems always stumped me, drove me nutz. But--yep, just about everything is about numbers. Geez, now I'm gonna be dreaming about numbers!!
Sepiasiren
the counter textures give this piece great dimensional depth--and the snail shell is beautiful as well--you really know how to pass on an appreciation for the hidden beauties of nature....
MrsRatbag
Stunning image, subtle and beautiful, drawing me in and in and in....
KatesFriend
Very profound thoughts. Speaking for myself mathematics once allowed me to touch (however fleeting) what I perceived to be the foundations of the universe. A religious experience if there ever was one. Yet, I have a very combative position towards religion in general. You say, "science, in its willingness to embrace this strangeness has joined forces with mathematics", that speaks of the acceptance of the outsider. I was never the "right sort" in most peoples' judgment. Perhaps that where and why I find solace in the truths which the sciences (including mathematics) provide. Your photo art is very apt as it is well done. How such simple (maybe simple) things can reflect the most fundamental ideas. And I ask myself, where does the spiral begin?
minos_6
Some people believe there's a mathematical equation to explain everything in the universe. I suppose that includes a mathematical equation to explain why there's a mathematical equation! Great capture with perfect focusing. I love the variety of textures in this. Simply beautiful!
nikolais
beauty will alway be unexplainable, no matter how we try to decribe, formulate, classify etc. it's the prerogative of historians, inculding those of art, to formulate.... like in this shell, the entrance may be wide, open and thus clear. however, there may be bo exit found... thank you Chip for putting my kettle on fire!
Ilona-Krijgsman
I do love the textures......shells are very interesting.......nice combination.......shell and wood pattern
Meisiekind
Well, you have set Nikolay's kettle on fire with this image and certainly have me thinking!!! I have a brother with a doctorate in physics and always find it most fascinating to hear his explanations on "things"... Most wonderful capture and mind-tickling narrative Chip!
bmac62
Whoa, you write of the age old tussle. I am with you background-wise. Math got me, I never got math much beyond trig and geometry:) While science finds an answer to almost everything, the answers continually change dramatically over time. As for religion, I am a believer. And a longtime, well studied one... I see no discord among math, science and religion. Pardon my gross generalization here:-) To me these subjects are complimentary, not at odds. I see an infinite creation and creator... Tonight I'll leave it at that:) I am extremely at peace with what has been revealed. But know that there is much, much more to come. I'm with Nikolay, thanks for putting my kettle on fire too. And yes, your photo is extremely well done...no accidents evident in this creature:)
Hubert
Wonderful shot and great story!! 1 + 1 = 3 for very large values of 1 ;)
durleybeachbum
A super sharp image makes the perfect illustration to this stimulating discussion! Fundamentalists of any sort are very up-nose-getting, and I avoid them like the plague, but there are many religious thinkers who are every bit as fascinating as their scientific counterparts. I have a very soft spot for the marvellous Mary Midgely, born 1919, an English moral philosopher, and still a razor-sharp brain, which she keeps warm always with a large hat to hide her thinning hair. She said recently in a superb series about this subject "Science and religion both search for certainties, but science is not so nutritious." ( I don't know how to do italics on the web..bother!)
auntietk
I've never learned to speak math. It's a whole language unto itself, and it's not one I've got any facility for. I DO understand how that particular string of numbers describes a spiral, but that's sort of like knowing how to say "hello" or count to ten. I can do that in several languages, but it gets me nowhere. Understanding the math for a spiral is sort of like that. It tells me there's a language, but that doesn't mean I can speak it! As for fractals and focusing in ... I think I agree with you about that. If you focus on a life issue, and you get closer and closer and closer to answering the questions it brings, the basic answer you get is bound to be applicable across the board in some way. For example, if I focus on relationships and get into the whole thing and discover that my relationships are about me, that I can make choices, let go, accept ... whatever ... those basic ideas about choice translate to how I do my work, how I make art, what sorts of things I have in my house, and whether or not I embrace a religious point of view. Fractal, indeed. Hmmmmm ...
whaleman
There is an elegance in mathematics which never quite reveals itself until you use it to solve a problem of significance to yourself; it then shines brightly. You perhaps suffered a loss in math and science due to bad teachers, but you did not suffer the same fate at the hands of your reading and writing teachers. It shows!
popeslattz
42
flavia49
fabulous image!! I've two loves: science (and maths as a part of it) and history. About religion I can say that my family wasn't too fond of it. My mother's side of the family gave two popes to the history and I'm still remembering my grandmother stating "Religion is for the populace, we, the ton, we create popes AND thus religion!". My father was a so called "mangiapreti" (priests-eater) probably because he spent a lot of his youth in Catholic colleges. When I had to decide what to do, I chose chemistry and, thanks to my classical studies, I continued to take an interest in history as a history buff. Later I was captured by chemical engineering (that was my job as a teacher), biochemistry and the DNA manipulations. By now I'm fascinated by the possibility of maths and computers through DNA (binary/quater codes).
jmb007
bonne photo,
gonedigital
Your writing as always is profound and wonderful. In our hurried day to day lives we often forget to just take a deep breath and look around at the beauty and mystery that surrounds us. I recognized the fibonacci sequence right away, interesting that my brain is currently being fueled by a large cup of tea, and it delighted me. Numbers and art don't always seem to dance that way. =-) Thank you once again for your wonderful words and the thoughts that they are causing me to have...
helanker
Math is not my strongest side either. And I didnt like the teacher. He was bullying some of the kids. Horrible to listen to. That made me hate math. YOu made an excellent capture Chip :-)
sandra46
great photo and a very stimulating debate as it often happens in your gallery! i've just seen two episodes of NUMB3RS, and i find maths fascinating, but i also suffered the bad effects of a number of bad maths teachers (sorry about the pun). As to religion, as Flavia said, in our family we had some who were top representatives of it, but also staunch atheists, and people in between. As to me, I'm still very fond of Joe Hill's song The Preacher and the Slave, also known as Pie in the Sky: (You will eat, bye and bye, In that glorious land above the sky; Work and pray, live on hay, You'll get pie in the sky when you die).
romanceworks
Always been intrigued with science and confused with math. Nature may only have a few patterns but it is infinitely beautiful. What a super shot of shell and surface.CC
Bothellite
I feel honored that you took the time to write so, from the heart. Thank you. The pleasure is mine.
lucindawind
Math and I dont get along lol .. I love science as well ... fantastic capture :)
Ac-Dc
a wonderful work, congrats.
flora-crassella
a wonderful snail house!!!! Great photo!!!!