What is the Fibonacci Sequence?

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...

I could go on ad infinitum, this is the beginning of the Fibonnacci sequence.

What is it?

Simply put, the Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers, where each number in the sequence is produced by adding the two previous numbers together, it is a sequence which has much to do with growth. The information existing before is used to get the next number in the sequence. Which is why you will see the Fibonacci number in so many different problems, from financial markets, art and biological settings, it is about learning from what is there already to get to the next step.

A bit of history

The Fibonacci Sequence is a series of integers named after Leonardo of Pisa, also known as Leonardo Fibonacci, or most commonly, Fibonacci. Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician, probably best known for bringing the Hindu-Arabic numeral system to Europe, he did so primarily through the 1202 publication of his Book of Calculation, the Liber Abaci. It was within the Liber Abaci he presented, and solved, a problem about the population growth of rabbits based on certain idealised conditions (I will investigate this same problem later). The solution was this sequence of numbers, that became known as the Fibonacci sequence.

In nature

Fibonacci numbers can also be seen in the arrangement of seeds on flower heads, the arrangement of leaves on a stem, an uncurling fern, the fruitlets of a pineapple and the arrangement of a pinecone.

Do you not think it's amazing that there is a sequence of numbers that appears naturally?

However, the appearance of the Fibonacci sequence in nature is not confined to the physical attributes of plants, Fibonacci numbers also occur where you would least expect them.

Next time: The Rabbit Problem