Thursday, December 10, 2009

Fibs are everywhere except in sunrises




Yesterday's sunrise caught me totally by surprise. My colleague, Mary, came into the building and told me to grab my camera - that the sunrise was going to be beautiful. So, with camera in hand, I ran out to the parking lot and watched. I almost missed everything by watching and not snapping. 



The more I watched, the more I wondered what the sky was saying...
It certainly seemed that a story was building here.



Mary was right - a sunrise not to be missed. 
I am glad we are the only two at work that early. No traffic, no people... just the silence of the sun rising and the clouds warming to sun's rays... and God suggesting a little light changes the whole day.

NOW TODAY:



This is before sunrise, on our back patio. 
Yes, this is Arizona.

In response to some of my previous 'Fibonacci in nature' comments - I offer a few more. I kind of feel like I glossed over the whole depth of Fibonacci in my excitement. I think of Fibonacci moments as 'Aha!' moments. At least they have been in my lifetime. Every time I look at our rosebushes, I see 'fibs'. I still see roses, but the fibs are the mathematics of the beauty. Here is a picture how:



Most simple, most basic, most obvious. Most easy way to say 'Aha!' to math in nature.
The branches are in a fibonacci sequences. 
Add the lowest sequence to its above (the 1 to the 2) and you find 3 branches.
The 2 to the 3, and you find 5 branches.
3 + 5 = 8.
5 + 8 = 13.
AHA! I get it! Fibonacci in a rose bush!



It also works perfectly in a conch shell, the spiral of it. My aunt once sent me a rather large conch shell from near her place in Florida. I thought it was pretty cool - until Mr. Fibonacci made me say "aha!" Yea, chances are I don't always see the shell any more, I see the sequence.

When  my mother knitted me a fair-isle sweater, I bit my tongue to not point out the fibonacci sequence she had colorfully created. I knew explaining that to her would rather ruin the art of her knitting... and that I would be wearing yarn dumped on my head (geez, who knows where she would have stabbed me with the knitting needles!). More on knitting with Fibonacci can be found here. Just in case you need to know...

Look for fibonacci sometime... in the next daisy you pick. I promise, you will be ruined for life.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Goodness gracious, that's beautiful!

Banjo52 said...

Now I get the Fib! Thank you. Amazing sunrise too. Can you sell it to Arizona Magazine or something?

Do you find that looking for Fibs can be like looking for photos--you end up missing or diminishing the object that excited you in the first place? I'm trying not to let that happen with my own photography.

Of course, and to state the obvious, the reverse is more often true--the conscious looking for this or that makes us more conscious of the good stuff, whether or not it's a good shot or fits a formula.

Shelley said...

Beautiful sunrise - the clouds looks like soft cotton balls!

Brenda's Arizona said...

Thanks for the comments on the photo - I can only dream of the caliber of Arizona Highways magazine...

I miss more photos worrying about taking a good one, Banjo. Fibonaccis just kind of creep up and hit me in the head. In a good way. But once you see one (like in a conch shell) you will always see it first!

Thanks, ya'll!

Carol said...

What a gorgeous sunrise!! The color is glorious. I love the fibonacci in nature info...not ever thought of that, but I'll be looking for it now...

Anonymous said...

I'll let you know when I spy my first fib. I've got my guidebook and the binocs, and camera of course.

National Geographic says they startle easily, so I must practice stealth.

Nishant said...

that's beautiful!

Work from home India

Patrinas Pencil said...

Amazing math lesson! But I'm too old for math - and I wouldn't want to ruin the "aaaah" beauty of God's amazing creativity. So, I'll forget the math - hopefully :) and just see the natural beauty - Like that sunrise. Ohhhh - how I wish I had been standing beneath that blanket of firey heaven. Simply breath taking. Thanks for sharing. You are a funny blogger. I like the lighter side of life that you offer. I look forward to following you too, in 2010. God bless you - your hubby and the dogs. Great looking kids you have there :)