Throughout the Discovering Mathematics module, there has been a lot of discussion between the creativity and beauty that mathematics can offer. Before this module I would not have given this much thought, I have never looked into the way in which buildings are created or the way in which an artist’s masterpiece is formed. I have always been in the mindset that people are creative and you either have the creative flare or not, I am now considering the fact that maybe people have been clever by using a mathematically concept to produce aesthetically pleasing objects.

Fibonacci is probably the first name that springs to mind when talking about mathematics holding some form of beauty and creativity.  It was Fibonacci that devised a set of numbers after studying the mating habits of rabbits!!!! These numbers have been used across the world for centuries to create aesthetically pleasing buildings, statues, artwork, logos and so much more. Not only this but mathematics can be found inbuilt in nature, the spiral of a pine cone or the amount of petals on a flower all follow the Fibonacci sequence.

The Golden ratio was devised by dividing the Fibonacci number by themselves in sequence – the answer is 1.618 – or PHI. By using this ratio, people are able to select appropriate proportions which allows people to produce attractive looking and appealing products, objects or artwork. In one or our recent inputs we were given the opportunity to measure the lengths of various different parts of our bodies and use the measurements to assess how aesthetically pleasing we appear according to the Golden Ratio. It’s safe to say I’m lucky to have found my Mr. Right already as my measurements would not have satisfied Mr Fibonacci!!!!

By looking into the work of Fibonacci and the Golden Ratio it is clear to see that mathematics surrounds us and our daily lives, it has been instilled within nature for such a long time that it suggests to me that Mathematics may have been formed from studying nature all those years ago and mathematics has been used as a tool to understand the world we live in. I believe that so many of us walk around today totally oblivious to how much mathematics has contributed to our world. I wonder is mathematics such a huge part of our life that we subconsciously forget that we are using mathematically concepts on an everyday basis?