It’s found in commonly through nature and often in design (whether intended or by coincidence).
Was wondering if anyone knew exactly why it was so common especially in nature.
In: 30
It’s super common because it’s what happens when you have exponential growth with discrete things.
Exponential growth is when the amount you gain depends on the amount you have. Just like multiplying cells…the more cells that are reproducing, the faster you grow.
But you can’t have half a cell…the integer version of exponential growth, which is basically all cell division or any kind of replication of discrete units, is the Fibonacci sequence. If it shows up in a spiral structure, which is super common for anything that grows attached to its predecessor like shells or flowers, you get a Fibonacci spiral.
It’s because the sequence is usually found in optimized structures and systems. Nature tends to reach it through trial and error, but as long as the more optimal arrangements keep reproducing or surviving more than the least optimal, they will gradually select systems that are closer and closer to one represented by the Fibonacci sequence. As to why the sequence is found in optimized systems, it’s because the sequence is an offset of the golden ratio, and that is an important relationship ratio in a lot of different natural systems.
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