No single number has been more celebrated than the Fibonacci sequence. Alternately kowtowed to as the Golden Ratio, the Divine Proportion, and That One Really Awesome Spiral, this famous number sequence has dazzled mathematicians and nerds for centuries—and practically spawned a cottage arts and design industry in its honor.
It is a sequence in which each number is the sum of the two numbers before it: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc. It produces numbers which roughly equal 1.6 when divided by the number just before them in the sequence. For example: In the pair 3 and 5, 5 divided by 3 is 1.6. In the pair 5 and 8, 8 divided by 5 is 1.6, and so on. Thus we have a sequence of number pairs with ratios that are roughly the same as the ratios of the pair just before them.
The Fibonacci sequence, which is the closest rational number approximation we have of the golden ratio of 1.6, leads us to famous images of the divine proportion in action, most notably this rectangle built on an increasing aspect ratio of the sequence. As you can see, each section has the same ratio as the smaller section.
Wikimedia Commons
If this symmetry makes you feel all zen, you’re in luck: The golden ratio pops up again and again throughout nature and often by design in art, architecture, and even film, as people have cottoned onto the mostly disprovable notion that it’s the ideal proportion.
Thus, the Internet teems with an endless assortment of geeky Fibonacci-inspired gifts, fashion, and lifestyle accessories. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites, a few must-haves for the math nerd in your life—or anyone who just likes looking at pretty shapes.
1) This Fibonacci spiral notebook
Too on the nose for your inner hipster? Not for us. What else are spiral notebooks for than to allow you to make visual puns while pouring your heart out in pen? Plus it comes in teal.
2) This vinyl wall decal
Put this baby in your living room and watch the date conversation flow. “Say ratio again.”
3) This dress
They’ll be checking out your curves for all the right reasons.
4) These cufflinks
These pretty babies must send anyone aesthetically inclined into a swoon.
5) This Steinway
Sadly there’s only one of these and it’s priced at $2.4 million and took four years to make, but if you really want to make that statement about the mathematical elegance of music, why not forego that copy of Goedel, Escher, Bach, and go for this piano instead?
6) This lamp
Simple, elegant, LED-powered, just as nature intended.
7) This pretentious clock
Backers on Kickstarter raised more than $180,000 to produce this light-up clock that tells time through a complicated combination of the Fibonacci sequence, light-up sequencing, and addition. You can preorder the market version.
8) These cutting boards
It’s high time for Fibonacci to infiltrate the one area of aesthetic design left standing: your kitchen.
9) These Japanese Satsuma teacups
The Fibonacci spiral sequence is hand-painted onto these gorgeous satsuma teacups, which can be yours for six payments of $150.
10) These Fibonacci tuning forks
Apparently a regular set of tuning forks contains the first four numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, but this set is an all-Fibonacci upgrade: “The upgrade contains the following new tuning forks, and because they are not notes they are listed as Fibonacci number ratios. They are 5/8, 8/13, 13/21 and 21/34.”
11) This nautilus shell e-reader cover
If you like this design this store also offers various Fibonacci designs for Macbook, Chromebook, and iPad.
As a bonus, try this soothing spiral design from Society6 user Golden Folding, which comes on all the standard Society6 merchandise—everything from T-shirts to duvets to shower curtains.
Photo via Etsy