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Nature’s Number

Gigi Lee

Created on May 17, 2022

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Transcript

PRESENTAtion

Nature's Numbers

start

The Natural Order

"Mathematics is to nature as Sherlock Holmes is to evidence."

In Nature's Number, Ian Stewart wants to show how mathematics can discover orders and patterns in the universe.

Fibonacci Sequence

  • a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two that precede it
  • The sequence looks like this: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34...

Fibonacci Spiral

Golden Ratio (phi)

  • The ratio of consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence approached a number known as the golden ratio (phi).
  • The golden ratio: 1.618033989..

Do Dice Play God?

Chaos theory

  • 19th Century scientists thought that, if you knew the starting conditions, then the rules governing any system, you could completely predict the outcomes
  • Chaotic systems are characteristically sensitive to initial conditions
  • Therefore a slight change could have a vast impact on the outcome

Do Dice Play God?

Chaos Theory

Stewart introduced a concept called 'Phase space'; This is an imaginary mathematical space that represents all possible motions in a given dynamic system. The 'phase space' is the 3D place in which you plot the behaviour in order to create the phase portrait.

References

Ian Stewart (1995). Nature's Number. Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p1-13.

Ian Stewart (1995). Nature's Number. Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p123-146.

Simon. (2019). Nature's Number by Ian Stewart. Available: https://astrofella.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/natures-numbers-ian-stewart/. Last accessed 22nd May 2022.

safeisrisky. (2007). Nature’s Numbers : Book Summary. Available: https://rkbookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/natures-numbers-book-summary-2/. Last accessed 22nd May 2022.

Lee Lambert. (1995). BOOK REVIEW / SCIENCE : Math and the Hunt for Patterns in Nature : NATURE’S NUMBERS: The Unreal Reality of Mathematics by Ian Stewart ; Basic Books $20, 176 pages. Available: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-15-ls-46039-story.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CNature's%20numbers%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20says,search%20for%20patterns%20in%20nature.. Last accessed 22nd May 2022.

Thank you!