Fun Holiday – Fibonacci Day
November
23 is Fibonacci Day, an annual holiday that honors one of the most influential
mathematicians of the Middle Ages - Leonardo Bonacci.
Also known
as Leonardo of Pisa, he is popularly known as Leonardo Fibonacci. Fibonacci is
a contraction of filo Bonacci, meaning the son of Bonaccio.
Date Sequence
November 23
is celebrated as Fibonacci day because when the date is written in the mm/dd
format (11/23), the digits in the date form a Fibonacci sequence: 1,1,2,3. A
Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers where a number is the sum of the two
numbers before it. For example: 1, 1, 2, 3...is a Fibonacci sequence. Here, 2
is the sum of the two numbers before it (1+1). Similarly, 3 is the sum of the
two numbers before it (1+2).
The Rabbit
Question
The
Fibonacci sequence, one of the biggest accomplishments of Leonardo of Pisa came
from a simple puzzle about rabbit population. In his book Liber acaci,
Fibonacci posed this puzzle: if there are a pair of newly born rabbit - male
and female - in the field and if they are able to produce another pair of
rabbits in their second month of life, how many pairs of rabbits will be there
after a year?
Born in
1170 in Pisa, Italy, Fibonacci was also responsible for making the Hindu-Arabic
numerals popular in Europe. In Liber acaci he advocated the
use of these numerals, explained the use of zero, provided ways to convert
between currencies and different measurements, and described how to calculate
interest.
Fibonacci
in Nature
One of the
beauties of the Fibonacci sequence is that the series is evident all over the
natural world. Petal arrangements in flowers, the ordering of leaves in plants,
the shell of the nautilus, the DNA molecule and even hurricanes show patterns
that correspond to the sequence.
How to Celebrate?
- Start the day by learning more
about the Fibonacci sequence and its theoretical and practical uses.
- A number of fruits and
vegetables, like pineapples, romanesco (a cross between broccoli and
cauliflower) display the Fibonacci series - incorporate them in your meals
to celebrate this mathematical holiday.
- Have children in your life?
Introduce them to the elegance of math and the importance of learning it
to use in real life.
Did You
Know…
…that the
ratio of two successive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence is very close to the
Golden Ratio? The Golden Ratio is approximately equal to 1.6. Objects whose
length and breadth exhibit the Golden Ratio are thought to be the most pleasing
to the eye.
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