Thursday, February 16, 2006

Fibonacci Sequence

Lachlan is such fun to have around. His verbal skills are improving daily, and he will repeat almost anything he hears (mama and papa, if you're listening, think about this!), even if it's sometimes difficult to make it out.

I have been enjoying teaching him to say "Fibonacci Sequence." Most folks just look at me sideways and furrow their brows. If you're not familiar with the phrase, you might want to look it up on-line. Among other things, the Fibonacci Sequence is the number sequence that many mollusks (most notably the chambered nautilus) use to construct their seashells. So it's an entirely appropriate phrase for our little islander.

The sequence is 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34.... Each number is the sum of the two previous numbers. The sequence is common in nature (including the patterns in sunflower seeds, pine cones, rabbit populations, etc.).

Here is a good link: http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibnat.html Scroll down the page to read about seashells.

Our current monthly Ocracoke Newsletter is Gary Mitchell's essay "I Believe in Pot-Lucks," published January 23, 2006. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012306.htm.

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