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Who said math can’t be interesting? Fractals like these can seem too perfect to be true, but they occur in nature and plants all the time and are examples of math, physics, and natural selection at work!
When we see order in the world, we think it must be some human hand that made it so. But Galileo Galilei in his Il Saggiatore wrote, “[The universe] is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures.” There is order in nature, and artists who want to reproduce it faithfully spend hours studying nature’s forms.
Civilization has struggled to understand this perfect geometry for thousands of years. In the 4th century, Plato believed that symmetry in nature was proof of universal forms; in 1952, the famous code-breaker Alan Turing wrote a book trying to explain how such patterns in nature could be formed.
Now you can join in the debate. Upvote your favorite photo from the list, or upload your own!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Aloe Polyphylla
VilémRein 9 years ago
Almost all of the pictures contain spirals of leaves or flowers. The spirals are mathematically described as Fibbonaci spirals and these are formed due to specific angels in which new organs are formed at the border region of the shoot apical meristem of the plant. The angle is given by the genotype and the places where are the primordia of the new organs formed are characterized by formation of a local high concentration of the plant hormone auxin. And because the plant maintains the shoot apical meristem throughout its life, there are new structures also in old plants formed in this regular shape (the only precondition is there is no damage close to the apical meristem.
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#2
Romanesco Broccoli
#3
Crassula Buddha's Temple Plant
#4
Amazon Lily Pad
#5
Dahlia
#6
Flowers Like Jeweled Carpet
#7
Drosophyllum Lusitanicum
#8
Hoya Aldrichii
#9
Fractal Cabbage
#10
Sunflower
#12
Spiraling Succulent
#13
Thinking Cactus
#14
Viola Sacculus
#15
Ludwigia Sedioides
#16
Lobelia
#18
Pelecyphora Aselliformis
#19
Chameleon Tail
#20
Leaf Ladder
#22
Alstroemeria Pelegrina
#23
Hoya Kerrii
#24
Spiral Begonia
#25
Aeonium Tabuliforme
#29
Passiflora Caerulea
Final score:
24points
#30
Pinecone
Final score:
24points
Dragons Exist 5 months ago
I've always liked pinecones when they're brown but before they open up
#31
Fearful Symmetry
Final score:
24points
MaryAliceLynch 9 years ago
I love the colors and the symetry. I like this one the best so far.
#32
Agave~tequila Plant
Final score:
24points
#41
Araucaria Arucana
Final score:
9points
#44
Finonacci Garden
Final score:
7points
#48
Millipede
Final score:
5points
#50
White Chrysanthemum
Final score:
5points
#51
Santan Flower
Final score:
5points
#52
Suculent
Final score:
5points
#55
King Protea - Maui
Final score:
4points
#58
Name?
Final score:
4points
#75
Cindiee
Final score:
2points
#79
Nymphalis Antiopa Butterfly
Final score:
1point
#81
???
Final score:
1point
#83
Geometric Flower.
Final score:
1point
#89
Centre Flower
Final score:
1point
#91
Phillip Nguyen Pd3 Got Emm
Final score:
1point
#99
Geometric Leave.
Final score:
0points
#106
Colorado Columbine
Final score:
-2points
#107
Purple
Final score:
-2points
#109
Phillip Nguyen Period 3
Final score:
-2points
#110
Fibonacci Music By: Alexis Hernandez
Final score:
-2points
#111
Iparanas's Symmetry
Final score:
-4points
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What do you think ?
GabriellaLengyel 9 years ago
Well, these natur's creations are so astoundly beautiful, every one of them! I enjoy to watch them!
GabriellaLengyel 9 years ago
Well, these natur's creations are so astoundly beautiful, every one of them! I enjoy to watch them!
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