Peacock Feather Patterns

Introduction

The paper attempts to examine the patterns of peacock feathers in a holistic context. The concept of fibonacci sequence and golden mean is used for the purpose of discussing the patterns on the peacock feathers. Apart from that, the paper also identifies the mathematical patterns in the peacock feathers. It also attempts to use the idea of fractal evidences to support the discussion. Furthermore, the history of the mathematicians and other profound personalities responsible for discovering as well as studying the concepts behind these patterns is discussed.

Discussion

The tail of a male peacock contains spectacular beauty due to the presence of brightly colourerd intricate patterns. The beauty of the peacock feathers, apart from the magnificent design of the patterns, lies in the semi-circular fan that it makes. However, the discussion would be more focused on the patterns of the peacock feathers and as to how they relate to the fibonacci sequence, golden mean as well as the fractal evidences. In order to examine the peacock feathers for the above mentioned criteria, it is important that the history and concept of these criteria be understood.

History of Fibonacci Sequence, Golden Ratio and Fractals

The history as well as a brief introduction of the majo concept behind each of the three mentioned criteria is discussed in the paragraphs to come.

History of Fibonacci Sequence

Leonardo Pisano Bigollo, an Italian mathematician, was the person who invented the Fibonacci sequence. As the Italians were amongst the most proficient of traders, an efficient arithematic was needed for the purpose keeping track of all the transactions (Gulick & Scott, pp 45 - 49). Leonardo Pisano Bigollo came up with the Fibonacci sequence in his attempt to solve a problem related to a problem of rabbit breeding. However, later, the concept of Fibonacci sequence was found to have been closely related to many of the naturally occuring organisms, especially in the patterns of plants (Baird, pp 198 - 194). The Fibonnaci sequence came to be known as the “Nature's numbering system” due to its existence in nature. The Fibonnaci attempts to start with the digit '1' and continues by adding the last two digits together. Thus, it appears to be something as follows:

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, and it continues…

The Golden Ratio

The Golden mean is also somewhat related to the concept of Fibonnaci sequence. The concept of golden ratio has fascinated the intellectuals of the western world for over 2,000 years (Baird, pp 198 - 194). Several great minds of the past including Pythagoras in the ancient Greece, the Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano Bigollo, Johannes Kepler the Renaissance astronomer have spent much time over this strange yet appealing concept. Moreover, it is not just the mathematicians that have been fascinated by the Golden ratio. Artists and musicians, biologist and psychologists, historians and architects, as well as mystics have debated on the appeal and ubiquity of this concept (Olsen, pp 32 - 35). The Golden ratio can ...